MEDITATIONS 


ON 


ST.  JOSEPH. 


BY 

BROTHER  PHILIPPE, 

SUPERIOR-GENERAL  OF  THE  BROTHERS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  SCHOOLS. 


®ratr$Iaijeb  from  tjj*  ITundj. 


NEW  YORK : 

D.  & J.  SADLIER  & CO.,  31  BARCLAY  STREET 

MONTREAL  I — COR.  NOTRE  DAME  AND  ST.  FRANCIS  XAVIER  STREET. 


1871. 


?44- 


# 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871,  by 
JOHN  P.  MURPHY, 

in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


boston 

chestnut  bill,  mas^ 


Stereotyped  by  VINCENT  DILL, 

25  & 27  New  Chambers  St.,  N.  Y. 


11089 


INTRODUCTION. 


My  very  dear  Brothers, — 

Christians,  and  especially  religious,  cannot  meditate  too 
deeply  on  the  life  and  virtues  of  the  glorious  St.  Joseph, 
on  his  holy  death,  his  power  with  God,  and  the  protection 
he  extends  to  the  faithful  who  are  devoted  to  his  service ; 
hut  there  are  none  to  whom  these  consoling  and  instruc- 
tive subjects  should  be  more  the  special  object  of  medita- 
tion  than  to  us. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  patron  of  our  Institute  that  is  to 
say,  he  is  our  model,  our  guide,  and  our  protector.  We 
ought,  then,  by  meditation,  to  study  his  perfections  for 
the  purpose  of  imitating  them,  to  listen  to  his  teachings 
that  we  may  put  them  in  practice,  and  to  give  ourselves 
a just  idea  of  his  goodness  and  his  power  of  intercession 
with  God,  so  as  to  have  the  greatest  confidence  in  him. 

Nothing  appears  to  us  more  in  conformity  with  the 
spirit  of  our  congregation  than  this. 

As  our  Venerable  Founder  taught  us,  we  should  often 
dwell  upon  the  mysteries  of  the  divine  Infancy,  entertain 
a great  devotion  to  the  most  holy  Virgin,  live  by  faith, 
and  be  animated  with  zeal  to  lead  our  pupils  to  preserve 
their  souls  in  the  state  of  innocence.  But  do  we  not 
directly  tend  to  these  ends  by  frequent  meditation  on  St. 
Joseph? 

It  is  impossible  to  meditate  on  this  great  servant 
of  God,  without  considering  him  in  his  relation  to  the 


iv 


INTRODUCTION. 


Child  Jesus,  and  without  contemplating  and  adoring,  in 
union  with  him,  our  divine  Saviour  in  his  holy  infancy 
and  his  hidden  life.  Neither  can  we  meditate  on  St. 
Joseph  without  thinking  on  the  most  holy  Virgin,  and 
uniting  ourselves  with  him  in  honoring  and  blessing  her. 
Joseph  is  admirable  considered  in  himself,  but  he  is  in- 
finitely more  so  when  viewed  in  his  relations  to  Jesus  and 
Mary.  It  is,  therefore,  from  this  point  of  view  that  we 
always  consider  him,  and  it  is  on  this  account  that,  by 
meditating  on  St.  Joseph,  we  kindle  in  our  hearts  true 
and  solid  devotion  to  the  divine  Infancy  and  the  most 
holy  Mother  of  God. 

To  meditate  on  St.  Joseph  is  eminently  calculated  to 
make  us  live  by  faith.  The  prerogatives  and  virtues  of 
our  holy  Patron  may  be  a source  of  the  most  salutary 
thoughts  to  us,  and  such  as  are  admirably  in  keeping 
with  our  holy  state.  There  is  in  these  a true  spiritual 
treasury  from  which  we  can  never  draw  too  much,  and 
whose  effect  will  assuredly  be  to  elevate  our  thoughts  to 
the  things  of  God,  to  lead  us  to  the  practices  of  an  inte- 
rior life,  and  to  procure  for  us,  moreover,  the  sweetest 
consolations ; for  it  is  always  a source  of  joy  to  the 
Christian  soul  to  meditate  on  the  greatness  and  pre- 
rogatives of  the  saints,  and  how  liberal  and  munificent 
God  is  towards  those  who  serve  him. 

To  meditate  on  St.  Joseph  is,  besides,  to  instruct  our- 
selves admirably  in  our  duties  as  teachers,  and  to  lead 
us  to  practice  all  the  virtues  necessary  in  our  relations 
with  children. 

To  meditate  on  St.  Joseph  is,  moreover,  to  put  our- 
selves in  the  dispositions  to  train  up  our  pupils  in  true 
devotion  to  him,  to  contribute  on  our  part  towards  that 


INTRODUCTION. 


V 


movement  that  is  every  day  extending  his  worship  in  the 
Church,  and  to  which  the  children  of  the  Venerable  de 
la  Salle  can  least  of  all  remain  indifferent. 

Such  are  the  advantages  which  the  salutary  practice 
of  meditating  on  St.  Joseph  may  procure  for  us.  There- 
fore, we  do  not  doubt  that  you  will  receive  with  pleasure 
the  work  we  this  day  present  to  you. 

We  have  written  it  simply,  and  with  no  other  end  than 
for  your  advantage..  We  have  placed  our  thoughts  in 
direct  harmony  with  the  subject,  and  have  wandered  as 
little  as  possible  from  it.  Sometimes  we  recur  to  the 
fundamental  ideas,  preferring  to  repeat  them  rather  than 
substitute  others  that  have  a very  distant  connection  with 
St.  Joseph. 

Although  we  have  written  this  book  especially  for  the 
use  of  our  congregation,  yet  it  may  be  found  very  profit- 
able to  persons  outside  of  it.  Subjects  of  reflection  for 
the  use  of  the  pupils  may  be  met  therein ; most  of  the 
thoughts  expressed  there,  especially  such  as  have  relation 
to  the  virtues  and  patronage  of  St.  Joseph,  are  of  a 

<4 

nature  calculated  to  induce  children  and  young  persons 
to  imitate  and  invoke  him. 

We  should  do  in  regard  to  the  Meditations  on  St, 
Joseph  as  with  those  on  the  Passion,  the  Last  End,  and 
the  Religious  Life,  reading  the  Resume  after  evening 
prayers,  and  the  text  on  the  morning  following,  at  the 
beginning  of  prayers,  and  finally  applying  all  the  facul- 
ties of  our  soul  to  the  subject,  according  to  the  method 
made  use  of  in  our  Institute. 

We  should  make  use  of  them  : 1st,  Every  day  in  the 
month  of  March,  unless  the  spirit  of  the  Church  invites 
us  to  meditate  on  some  other  subject ; 2d,  On  the  first 


vi 


INTRODUCTION. 


Wednesday  of  each  month,  and  even  on  every  Wednesday 
in  the  year,  if  this  should  be  thought  to  be  advantageous  ; 
3d,  On  all  the  festivals  of  St.  Joseph,  and  on  the  days 
that  precede  and  follow  them. 

They  may  also  be  found  useful  for  spiritual  reading, 

V 

particularly  on  the  days  consecrated  to  the  honor  of  our 
glorious  protector. 

May  this  book  prove  to  all  of  some  advantage  in  the 
work  of  our  sanctification ! May  it  help  us  to  acquire 
more  and  more  an  interior  spirit,  and  conform  us  to  the 
resemblance  of  the  august  Patron  of  our  Society!  We 
will  bless  God  for  such  a result,  which  is,  you  know,  all 
that  we  desire  upon  earth. 

BROTHER  PHILIPPE. 


* 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introduction 3 


1st 

Meditation- 

—Designs  of  God  upon  St.  Joseph 

11 

2d 

Principal  Motives  for  our  Devotion  to  St.  Joseph 

18 

3d 

tt 

Joseph  the  Husband  of  Mary  ....*. 

24 

4th 

tt 

Joseph  the  Nursing- Father  of  the  Child  Jesus 

31 

5th 

i i 

Jesus  our  Model  in  the  Worship  we  pay  to  St. 
Joseph 

38 

6th 

tt 

Mary  our  Model  in  our  Devotion  to  St.  Joseph 

45 

7 th 

tt 

Journey  of  Joseph  and  Mary  from  Nazareth  to 
Bethlehem 

51 

8th 

tt 

Joseph  and  Mary  at  Bethlehem 

57 

9th 

(( 

Joseph  in  the  Stable  of  Bethlehem  .... 

64 

10th 

tt 

Interior  Dispositions  of  St.  Joseph  on  occasion 
of  the  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds  of  Beth- 
lehem   

71 

11th 

it 

Interior  Dispositions  of  St.  Joseph  on  occasion 
of  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi  . . • . 

77 

12th 

tt 

Jesus  is  Presented  in  the  Temple 

83 

13th 

it 

St.  Joseph  Receives  the  Order  to  go  into  Egypt 

90 

14th 

tt 

The  Flight  into  Egypt 

97 

15th 

tt 

Sojourn  of  the  Holy  Family  in  Egypt  . . . 

104 

16th 

it 

Return  of  the  Holy  Family 

111 

17th 

it 

Journey  of  the  Holy  Family  to  the  Temple  of 
Jerusalem 

117 

18th 

it 

Joseph  at  Nazareth 

124 

19th 

ti 

The  Holy  Family , 

130 

20th 

tt 

Faith  of  St.  Joseph 

136 

21st 

u 

Hope  of  St.  Joseph 

142 

22d 

tt 

Charity  of  St.  Joseph 

148 

23d 

tt 

Devotedness  of  St.  Joseph 

154 

24th 

tt 

Purity  of  St.  Joseph 

160 

viii 


C ONTENTS. 


PAGE 

25th  Meditation — Humility  of  St.  Joseph  ........  166 

26th  “ Poverty  of  St.  Joseph 172 

27th  44  Patience  of  St.  Joseph 178 

28th  44  Obedience  of  St.  Joseph 181 

29th  44  Interior  Life  of  St.  Joseph 190 

80th  44  Prudence  of  St.  Joseph  196 

31st  “ Gratitude  of  St.  Joseph 202 

82d  44  Perseverance  of  St.  Joseph 208 

33d  44  Heart  of  St.  Joseph  . . • 214 

34th  44  Our  Duties  towards  St.  Joseph 220 

35th  44  . St.  Joseph  Patron  of  those  who  are  Conse- 
crated to  God 226 

36th  ‘ 4 Progress  of  St.  Joseph  in  Perfection  ....  232 

37th  44  St.  Joseph  Patron  of  Persons  Devoted  to  the 

Christian  Education  of  Youth  ....  238 
38th  44  St.  Joseph  our  Model  as  Teachers  ....  244 

39th  44  St.  Joseph  the  Patron  of  Children  ....  250 

40th  44  St.  Joseph  the  Patron  of  Youth 256 

41st  44  St.  Joseph  Sanctifying  his  Labor 262 

42d  44  St.  Joseph  Patron  of  the  Institute  of  Brothers 

of  the  Christian  Schools 268 

43d  44  St.  Joseph  Patron  of  Afflicted  Souls  ...  .275 

44th  44  St.  Joseph  Intercedes  for  Sinners 281 

45th  44  St.  Joseph  Protector  of  those  in  their  Agony  . 287 

46th  44  The  Last  Moments  of  St.  Joseph  . . . . . 293 

47th  44  The  Death  of  St.  Joseph 299 

48th  44  The  Resurrection  of  St.  Joseph 306 

49th  44  Glory  of  St.  Joseph  in  Heaven 312 

50th  44  Power  of  St.  Joseph  in  Heaven 319 

51st  44  Feast  of  St.  Joseph 325 

62d  44  Feast  of  the  Patronage  of  St.  Joseph  . . . 831 


TABLE  FOR  A MONTH  OF  ST.  JOSEPH.* 


PAGE 

Vigil  of  the  1st  Day — Principal  Motives  for  our  Devotion  to 

St.  Joseph 18 

1st  Day — Joseph  the  Husband  of  Mary 24 

2d  “ Joseph  the  Nursing-Father  of  the  Child  Jesus  ...  31 

3d  “ Journey  from  Nazareth  to  Bethlehem 61 

4th  “ Joseph  and  Mary  at  Bethlehem 57 

5th  “ Joseph  in  the  Stable  of  Bethlehem 64 

6th  “ Adoration  of  the  Shepherds 71 

* 

7 th  “ Adoration  of  the  Magi 77 

8th  “ Presentation  of  Jesus  in  the  Temple 83 

9th  “ The  Command  to  Fly  into  Egypt 90 

10th  “ The  Flight  into  Egypt 97 

11th  “ The  Sojourn  in  Egypt  104 

12th  “ The  Return  from  Egypt Ill 

13th  “ The  Journey  to  Jerusalem 117 

14th  “ The  Sojourn  at  Nazareth 124 

15th  “ The  Holy  Family 130 

16th  “ St.  Joseph  Sanctifying  his  Labor 262 

17th  “ Faith  of  St.  Joseph  . . 136 

18th  “ Charity  of  St.  Joseph  148 

19th  u Feast  of  St.  Joseph 325 

20th  “ Heart  of  St.  Joseph 214 

* Different  subjects  from  those  we  point  out  here  may  be  chosen  for  a month  of 
St.  Joseph.  This  table  is  only  for  such  as  might  have  no  reasons  for  preferring 
some  particular  meditations  to  others. 


X 


TABLE 


PAGE 

21st  Day — Purity  of  St  Joseph  . .f 160 

22d  “ Humility  of  St.  Joseph 166 

23d  “ Interior  Life  of  St.  Joseph 190 

24th  “ Patience  of  St.  Joseph 178 

25th  “ Perseverance  of  St.  Joseph 208 

26th  “ St.  Joseph  Intercedes  for  Sinners 281 

27th  “ St.  Joseph  Protector  of  those  in  their  Agony  ....  287 

28th  “ Death  of  St.  Joseph 299 

29th  “ Resurrection  of  St.  Joseph 306 

30th  “ Glory  of  St.  Joseph  in  Heaven 312 

31st  “ Power  of  St.  Joseph  in  Heaven 319 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


FIRST  MEDITATION. 


DESIGNS  OF  GOD  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ Behold  the  faithful  and  wise  servant,  whom  the  Lord  hath  set  over 
his  family. ” — St.  Matt.  xxiv.  45. 


CON  SIDEEATION. 

When  our  first  parents  had  lost  through  their  dis- 
obedience their  state  of  justice  and  sanctity,  God, 
listening  only  to  his  mercy,  resolved  to  do  for  guilty 
man  what  he  had  not  done  for  the  rebel  angels,  and 
to  renew  his  covenant  with  him.  He  determined, 
then,  when  the  fulness  of  time  should  be  accom- 
plished, to  send  his  Son  into  the  world,  that  through 
him  men  might  find  favor  in  his  eyes,  and  attain  to 
their  heavenly  country ; and  therefore  he  chose  the 
most  holy  and  immaculate  Virgin  Mary  to  be  the 
Mother  of  our  Saviour. 

But  for  that  incomparable  Virgin  a spouse  was  nec- 
essary to  be  the  guardian  of  her  purity,  and  her  pro- 
tector ; and  also  for  the  divine  Infant  himself,  who  was 
to  be  born  with  all  our  weaknesses  and  wants,  there 
was  needed  a support,  a nursing  Bather,  and  a pro^ 


12 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


tector : such,  in  truth,  was  the  double  mission  of  St. 
J oseph. 

But  let  us  consider  how  advantageous  that  choice 
was  to  this  holy  patriarch,  and  also  how  honorable  it 
was  to  him. 

That  choice  was  advantageous  to  him,  because  God, 
who  called  him  to  fulfil  such  duties,  first  adorned  him 
with  those  graces  that  were  needful  to  discharge  them 
worthily.  He  embellished  with  the  purest  virtues  the 
soul  that  was  to  enter  into  such  intimate  relations 
with  Jesus  and  Mary.  He  endowed  him  with  the 
greatest  purity  and  most  loving  piety — him  whom  he 
destined  to  be  the  spouse  of  the  most  pure  and  most 
holy  Virgin.  He  gifted  in  a supereminent  degree 
with  charity,  devotedness,  and  love  of  sacrifice  him 
whom  he  associated  to  his  adorable  Son,  who  came  to 
sacrifice  himself  for  the  love  of  men. 

The  choice  which  God  made  of  Joseph  was  advan- 
tageous to  him  through  the  singular  favors  that  came 
from  it  as  from  their  source.  Who  can  imagine  how 
far  these  heavenly  gifts  with  which  his  soul  was  en- 
dowed in  the  beginning,  developed  themselves  ? or  to 
what  a degree  the  fire  of  divine  love  increased  in  a 
heart  thus  placed  in  contact  with  the  heart  of  Jesus, 
and  with  that  of  Mary  ? or  to  what  a point  his  purity 
attained  who  was  to  dwell  more  than  thirty  years  with 
the  Virgin  of  virgins  and  the  Queen  of  angels  ? 

The  choice  which  God  made  of  Joseph  was  likewise 
advantageous  to  him,  because  of  the  glory  with  which 
that  Sovereign  Master  would  recompense  the  fidelity 
of  his  servant. 

But  that  choice  was  not  merely  advantageous  to 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


13 


Joseph,  it  was  likewise  most  honorable  to  him.  And, 
in  truth,  the  more  this  great  saint  was  favored  with 
the  graces  of  heaven,  the  more  faithfully  did  he  corre- 
spond to  them.  God  had  great  designs  for  him,  but 
he  admirably  responded  to  the  designs  of  God,  so  that 
by  the  worthy  correspondence  of  his  will,  he  rose  to 
the  height  of  his  sublime  mission.  Let  us  say,  then, 
“ Glory  to  God,  who  gave  Joseph  in  the  beginning  so 
many  and  such  precious  favors;”  but  let  us  also  add, 
“ Honor  to  St.  Joseph  who  corresponded  to  all,  so  as 
to  fulfil  exactly  what  God  expected  of  him.” 

The  choice  of  God  is  equally  honorable  to  St.  Joseph 
through  the  excellence  of  the  ministry  with  which  it 
invested  him. 

The  prophets  had  seen  in  spirit  the  Mother  of  the 
Redeemer,  and  they  regarded  it  as  a happiness  and 
glory  to  make  her  known  to  men ; they  esteemed 
themselves  infinitely  honored  in  being  chosen  to  an- 
nounce the  beloved  of  the  Sovereign  King,  the  Virgin 
who  was  to  give  to  earth  the  Desired  of  nations  ; but 
however  exalted  their  ministry  was  in  regard  to  Mary, 
it  did  not  approach  to  that  of  Joseph,  since  that  just 
man,  so  highly  privileged,  was  to  dwell  with  her  whom 
they  announced,  to  be  her  spouse  and  her  protector. 

But  the  ministry  of  Joseph,  in  regard  to  Jesus,  is 
more  glorious  still  than  what  he  had  to  fulfil  towards 
the  most  holy  Virgin.  Here  it  is  we  have  reason 
to  praise  that  great  servant  of  God,  and  to  congratu- 
late him  on  the  choice  that  was  made  of  him. 

Abraham,  that  king  of  patriarchs,  that  father  of  the 
chosen  race,  that  man  so  honored  among  men,  and  so 
favored  by  the  visits  of  angels,  had  thrilled  with  joy  at 


14 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


contemplating,  beyond  the  course  of  ages,  the  Redeem- 
er that  was  to  come  into  the  world ; he  would  have 
deemed  it  the  height  of  happiness  to  see  him,  were  it 
but  for  an  instant.  What  in  his  eyes  would  have  been 
the  ministry  of  one  who  was  to  live  in  the  closest  inti- 
macy with  this  Saviour-God,  the  object  of  so  many 
hopes  and  desires  ? What  esteem  would  he  have  felt 
for  the  just  man  who  was  to  be  the  representative  of 
all  the  just  men  of  the  old  covenant,  and  in  whom  the 
patriarchs  and  prophets  were  to  gather  the  fruits  of 
the  divine  promises  ; for  him  who  was  to  be,  not  merely 
the  witness,  but  also  the  co-operator  in  the  work  of 
the  salvation  of  the  world  ? 

Yes,  the  ministry  of  Joseph  was  glorious  to  him  ; it 
was  also  a direct  concurrence  in  the  mission  of  our 
Saviour ; it  was  an  active  part  in  the  redemption  of 
men ; it  was  man  working  with  God  to  save  man. 
Had  the  Most  High  proposed  it  to  his  angels,  to 
those  princes  of  heaven,  to  those  creatures  so  excel- 
lent and  so  exalted  above  us,  with  what  gratitude 
would  they  not  have  accepted  it ! How  honored 
would  he  consider  himself  who  should  have  been 
selected  to  be  the  guardian,  the  defender  of  the  Word 
of  God ! What  title  of  glory  would  not  be  given  to 
him  who  should  have  been  chosen  to  be  the  protector 
of  the  Queen  of  heaven ! 

It  is  true,  then,  that  Joseph  was  honored  with  a 
glorious  ministry ; that  in  view  of  that  ministry,  he  was 
favored  with  graces  without  number,  to  which  he  cor- 
responded with  perfect  fidelity.  It  is  true  also  that  he 
is  dearly  beloved  by  our  Lord,  and  that  as  Mary  is 
blessed  amongst  all  women,  so  is  he  amongst  all  men, 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


15 


and  that  he  ought,  after  that  glorious  Queen,  to  be  the 
first  object  of  our  respect  and  homage. 

APPLICATION. 

We  also — we  who  are  religious  teachers — have  been 
chosen  by  God  for  the  wrork  of  his  mercy  towards 
men.  That  good  Master  has  called  us  to  co-operate, 
by  our  example,  our  prayers,  and  our  labors,  in  the 
salvation  of  many,  and  he  has  given  us,  in  anticipation, 
all  the  graces  that  are  necessary  for  us  to  do  the  good 
that  he  expects  from  us. 

Do  we  enter  into  his  designs  in  our  regard?  Do 
we  esteem  ourselves  greatly  honored  by  the  choice  he 
has  made  of  us  ? Do  we  testify  our  gratitude  to  him 
for  it  ? Are  we  disposed  to  correspond  to  his  graces  ? 
Does  he  find  us  faithful,  as  St.  Joseph  was  ? Alas ! 
does  it  not  frequently  happen  to  us  to  leave  his  most 
excellent  gifts  unproductive,  and  that  in  place  of 
elevating  us  to  the  degree  of  virtue  to  which  he  calls, 
we  remain  creeping  upon  the  earth  in  a deplorable 
spiritual  apathy. 

Let  us  leave  that  state,  and  for  that  end  let  us  im- 
plore the  assistance  of  our  glorious  patron — that  is  to 
say,  of  him  who  is  at  the  same  time  our  protector  and 
our  model. 

Oh  how  happy  we  should  be,  what  good  we  should 
work,  were  our  souls  filled  with  generosity — were  we 
men  full  of  devotedness  and  upright  will,  desiring,  like 
St.  Joseph,  only  to  know  the  will  of  God  in  our  regard, 
and  to  execute  that  will  with  all  the  fidelity  of  which 
we  are  capable ! 


16 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  faithful  servant,  whom  the  Lord  has  ap- 
pointed to  be  the  support  of  his  Word  made  flesh,  the 
consoler  of  Mary  his  Mother,  and  whom  alone  he 
found  most  worthy  to  be  a faithful  coadjutor  in  the 
great  design  of  Providence  in  regard  to  men,  obtain 
for  us  that  we  may  do  the  will  of  the  Father,  meditate 
in  our  hearts  on  the  mysteries  that  the  Son  has  accom- 
plished, and  by  the  abundant  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
serve  God  with  a pure  heart  and  a chaste  body. 

RESUME. 

The  designs  of  God  upon  St.  Joseph  unite  him  with  the 
great  design  of  his  providence  to  save  the  world  by  the 
mediation  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Infant  God  needed  a Virgin  Mother,  and  that 
Mother  needed  a spouse,  to  be  the  guardian  of  her  vir- 
ginity, and  her  protector 

Moreover,  as  the  Son  of  God  was  to  take  upon  him  all 
the  miseries  of  humanit}r,  he  needed  a foster-father,  a 

guardian,  a protector Joseph  was  charged  with  that 

twofold  ministry .... 

Oh  how  advantageous  that  choice  is  to  him,  for  it  is 
the  source  of  the  great  graces  God  conferred  upon  him, 
and  of  the  holiness  to  which  he  attained  by  correspond- 
ing to  them 

And  in  like  manner,  how  honorable  that  choice  is  to 
him ; for,  1st,  his  disposition  to  correspond  to  the  views 
of  God,  and  make  his  graces  fruitful  in  his  soul,  was 
the  motive  for  the  choice  made  of  him  ; and,  2d,  it  in- 
vested him  with  a ministry  worthy  of  the  ambition  even 
of  the  angels 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


17 


St.  Joseph  was  happier  than  the  patriarchs,  who  hoped 
for  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  prophets,  who 
announced  him  when  they  announced  his  most  holy 
Mother .... 

It  is  true,  then,  that  Joseph  was  greatly  honored 
by  God,  and  that  we  ought  to  pay  him  a special  homage 
— we,  especially,  who  see  in  him  our  protector  and  our 
model 

Fruits. — To  esteem,  the  grace  of  our  vocation,  and  to  thank  God  for 
it ; to  correspond  faithfully  to  all  his  graces,  so  as  to  accomplish  all  the 
good  that  God  expects  of  us. 


SECOND  MEDITATION. 


PRINCIPAL  MOTIVES  FOR  OUR  DEVOTION  TO  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ This  honor  is  he  worthy  of  whom  the  king  hath  a mind  to  honor.’ ’ 

Esther  vi.  11. 


CONSIDERATION. 

God  wishes  that  we  should  honor  St.  Joseph,  whom 
he  himself  hath  so  much  honored,  and  whose  worship 
he  has  made  almost  inseparable  from  that  to  the  di- 
vine Infancy  and  the  most  holy  Yirgin ; the  Church 
invites  us  to  unite  with  the  inhabitants  of  heaven,  and 
all  the  choirs  of  Christians,*  in  paying  him  a homage 
worthy  of  his  prerogatives ; our  dearest  interests 
makefc  it  a pleasing  obligation  to  us  to  pray  to  him 
with  much  fervor  and  great  confidence.  It  is,  above 
all,  in  this  honor,  in  this  worship,  in  these  prayers, 
that  devotion  to  this  great  saint  consists  : it  has  as  its 
chief  motives  the  wTill  of  God,  the  practice  of  the 
Church,  and  our  owrn  true  interests. 

God  wishes  that  w^e  should  honor  St.  Joseph,  for  he 
himself  has  greatly  honored  him.  How  greatly  did 
he  distinguish  him  from  other  men  by  anticipatory 
graces,  by  the  sublime  office  he  entrusted  to  him,  and 
by  the  place  he  has  given  him  in  heaven ! Who, 
among  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  was  so  favored  by 
the  Lord  ? Who  is  the  angel,  however  elevated  he 

Hymn  Te,  Joseph , celebrent. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


19 


may  be  in  glory,  who  would  not  esteem  it  an  invalu- 
able happiness  to  fulfil  the  duties  he  fulfilled,  to  rep- 
resent upon  earth  God  himself  in  regard  to  his  ador- 
able Son,  and  the  most  holy  Virgin?  What  saint, 
after  Mary,  is  placed  in  heaven  nearer  to  Jesus  Christ 
— to  that  divine  Son  who  makes  all  the  glory  and 
splendor  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  Jerusalem? 

God  has,  then,  greatly  honored  St.  Joseph;  he  wishes 
that,  in  imitation  of  him,  we  should  honor  that  great 
saint  with  a worship  worthy  of  his  prerogatives.  He 
acts  towards  him  as  Pharaoh  did  towards  the  patri- 
arch Joseph,  whom  St.  Bernard  and  a great  number 
of  other  saints  consider  as  a figure  of  the  saint  who 
was  to  bear  the  same  name.  Can  I find  one  wiser, 
said  that  great  king  to  him,  and  one  like  unto  tliee? 
Thou  shalt  he  over  my  house ....  only  in  the  kingly  throne 

will  I he  above  thee And  Pharaoh  took  his  ring  f rom 

his  oion  hand,  and  gave  it  into  his  hand:  and  he  put 
upon  Mm  a rohe  of  silk,  and  put  a chain  of  gold  about 
his  neck.  And  he  made  him  go  up  into  his  second 
chariot,  the  crier  proclaiming  that  all  should  how  their 
knee  before  him,  and  that  they  should  knoio  he  was  made 
governor  over  the  whole  land  of  Egypt.* 

That  is  a figure  of  the  manner  in  which  God  acts 
towards  St.  Joseph  : he  has  honored  him;  he  has  pre- 
sented him  to  the  veneration  of  nations,  and  he  has 
established  him  over  all  his  house — that  is  to  say,  over 
all  humankind — for  Jesus,  the  new  Adam,  and  Mary, 
the  new  Eve,  represented  all  mankind.  He  has  like- 
wise given  him  all  power  to  communicate  to  us  the 
graces  we  require ; so  that  he  says  to  us,  as  Pharaoh 
• Gen.  xli.  39-43. 


20 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


did  to  his  subjects,  Go  to  Joseph , ask  of  Joseph ; it 
is  from  his  beneficent  hand  you  will  receive  the  suc- 
cor you  pray  for. 

We  ought,  then,  to  honor  St.  Joseph,  because  God 
has  honored  him  ; we  ought  to  do  so  likewise  because 
our  devotion  to  him  is  most  closely  united  to  devotion 
to  the  Child  Jesus  and  his  Virgin  Mother,  so  that  we 
cannot  excel  in  these  last  without  having  that  in  a 
high  degree.  Let  us  remember  what  St.  Theresa 
teaches  on  this  subject : “ For  my  part,”  says  she,  “ I 
do  not  know  how  any  one  can  think  of  the  Queen  of 
Angels,  and  of  the  care  which  she  took  of  Jesus  in  his 
childhood,  without  thanking  St.  Joseph  for  the  succor 
he  gave  during  this  time  to  both  Mother  and  Son.” 

Let  us  likewise  say.  How  is  it  possible  to  contem- 
plate the  divine  Word  in  the  mysteries  of  his  adorable 
Infancy,  without  paying  a tribute  of  praise,  without 
offering  a worship  of  honor  to  him,  who  is  his  pro- 
tector, his  guardian,  his  adopted  father  ? 

No,  wre  cannot  conceive  true  devotion  to  the  Child 
Jesus  and  his  most  holy  Mother  to  exist  without  a 
great  devotion  to  St.  Joseph.  If  we  truly  love  the 
Infant  God — if  we  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  mysteries 
he  accomplished — if  we  venerate  the  most  holy  Virgin, 
his  Mother,  we  shall  love,  we  shall  honor  St.  Joseph, 
who  was  the  head  of  the  Holy  Family,  and  who  was, 
besides,  so  much  honored  by  Mary  and  Jesus  himself. 

Our  devotion  to  St.  Joseph  has  likewise  as  a motive 
the  intentions  of  the  Holy  Church — the  infallible  inter- 
preter of  the  will  of  Jesus  Christ  in  our  regard. 

The  Church  wishes  that  wherever  the  praises  of 
Jesus  and  Mary  are  heard,  those  of  Joseph  should  be 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


21 


heard  likewise,  and  that  the  worship  of  that  great 
saint  should  spread  more  and  more.  She  exhorts  the 
faithful  to  have  recourse  to  him  in  all  their  necessities, 
persuaded  that  they  will  be  most  assuredly  succored 
when  they  invoke  him  with  piety  and  confidence.  She 
encourages  everything  that  can  increase  this  devotion, 
and  opens  for  that  purpose  the  treasury  of  her  indul- 
gences. Thus  we  see  how,  under  the  inspiration  of 
that  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  worship  of  St.  Joseph 
is  propagated  in  our  days.  How  many  chapels  and 
oratories  there  are  under  his  name ! How  many 
altars  have  been  raised  to  his  glory ! How  many 
confraternities,*  missions,  and  undertakings  have  been 
placed  under  his  patronage  ! How  many  holy  images 
serve  to  recall  the  thought  of  him  to  the  faithful ! 

Finally,  our  dearest  interests  make  it  our  duty  to  be 
devout  to  St.  Joseph. 

What  do  we,  so  weak  and  miserable,  need  but  a 
powerful  protector,  and  one  full  of  goodness  to  us? 
Is  not  that,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  character  of  St. 
Joseph?  To  what  patron  could  we  have  recourse 
whose  prayers  would  be  more  efficacious  with  God 
than  those  of  St.  Joseph,  who,  by  the  sanctity  of  his 
life,  contributed  so  much  to  the  ineffable  mystery  of 
the  incarnation  of  the  Word  ? What  saint,  after  Mary, 
has  more  power  with  our  divine  Saviour  than  he  who 
fed  him  by  the  labor  of  his  hands,  and  who  devoted 
himself  without  reserve  to  serve  him  ? 

We  have,  then,  in  St.  Joseph  a most  powerful  pro- 
tector, who  is,  moreover,  full  of  goodness  towards  us, 
and  always  disposed  to  succor  us.  Could  it  be  other- 
wise, when  his  heart  burns  with  the  same  fire  of 


22 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


charity  as  those  of  Jesus  and  Mary?  How  could  he 
be  but  a most  loving  friend  to  us,  and  most  anxious  to 
do  us  good,  he  who  saw  in  so  sensible  a way  how 
much  our  souls,  cost  to  our  divine  Saviour?  How 
could  he  be  but  interested  in  our  salvation,  he  who 
devoted  himself  to  procure  it  for  us,  and  who,  laboring 
for  Jesus  and  with  Jesus,  mingled  his  sweat  with  the 
blood  that  was  to  bring  about  the  redemption  of  the 
world  ? 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  renew  our  confidence  in  St.  Joseph,  and  let 
that  sentiment  be  one  of  the  most  lively  in  our  hearts. 
How  could  we  doubt  the  power  and  goodness  of  him 
who  was  so  honored  by  God,  and  who  was  appointed 
the  head  of  the  great  Christian  family ; of  him  who, 
by  so  just  a title,  is  called  the  protector  of  the  Church, 
the  terror  of  hell,  the  succor  of  the  afflicted,  the  patron 
of  a good  death ; of  him  from  whom  we  have  received, 
both  as  Christians  and  religious,  so  many  proofs  of  his 
protection ! 

Let  us,  then,  have  a true  devotion  to  him,  and  let  us 
honor  him  by  all  the  means  in  our  power ; let  us  also 
cause  him  to  be  honored  by  those  who  depend  upon 
us  for  instruction.  Let  us  frequently  have  recourse 
to  his  intercession,  and,  imitating  the  example  of  God 
the  Father,  who  entrusts  to  him  what  is  most  precious 
in  his  eyes,  Jesus  and  Mary,  let  us  commit  our  soul 
to  him,  that  he  may  keep  it  for  heaven.  Let  us  place 
under  his  protection  our  relations,  our  community, 
our  pupils,  and  our  undertakings,  and  let  us  be  as- 
sured, that  we  shall  never  invoke  him  without  being 
heard  in  the  manner  most  suited  to  us. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSETH. 


23 


PEAYEE. 

O glorious  patriarch,  who  lias  so  many  titles  to  the 
veneration  of  the  faithful ! I come  to  prostrate  myself 
at  your  feet,  and  to  consecrate  myself  to  your  service. 
Eeceive  me,  I beseech  you,  into  the  number  of  your 
devoted  servants,  and  obtain  for  me,  along  with  a great 
confidence  in  your  power,  the  grace  of  frequently  hav- 
ing recourse  to  your  intercession,  and  imploring  it, 
above  all,  in  times  of  trial,  because  to  invoke  you,  O 
great  saint ! is  to  assure  a triumph  over  hell,  and  to 
take  the  true  means  of  persevering  in  the  grace  of 
God. 

Ri kSTJMtl. 

We  should  honor  and  invoke  St.  Joseph,  because  God 
himself  has  honored  him,  has  appointed  him  to  the  care 
of  the  great  family  of  the  Church,  and  says  to  us,  as 
Pharaoh  formerly  did  to  the  Egyptians,  Go  to  Joseph . 

We  should  honor  and  invoke  St.  Joseph,  because  other- 
wise we  could  not  have  a true  devotion  to  the  holy  In- 
fancy, and  the  most  Blessed  Virgin.  He  who  venerates 
the  Child  Jesus  and  Mary,  should  also  venerate  Joseph, 
the  head  of  the  Holy  Family. 

We  should  honor  and  invoke  St.  Joseph,  because  such 
is  the  spirit  of  the  Church,  and,  finally,  because  our  devo- 
tion to  him  is  a true  treasury  from  which  to  enrich  our 
souls. 

Let  us  often  think  that  Joseph  has  all  power  in  heaven, 
and  that  he  interests  himself  in  a special  manner  for  the 
members  of  a congregation  consecrated  to  him. 

Fruits. — To  renew  our  confidence  in  St.  Joseph  ; to  consecrate  our- 
selves to  his  service  ; to  lead  our  pupils  to  entertain  a great  devotion 
towards  this  powerful  protector. 


THIRD  MEDITATION. 


JOSEPH,  THE  HUSBAND  OE  MARY. 


“ Joseph,  the  husband  of  Mary,  of  whom  was  horn  Jesus.” 

St.  Matt.  i.  16. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  to-day  meditate  on  what  these  words  of  the 
Gospel  make  known  to  us — namely,  the  holy  marriage 
of  St.  Joseph  with  the  ever-blessed  Virgin ; a mar- 
riage of  which  God  was  the  author,  and  which  was 
associated  with  the  great  designs  of  his  love  towards 
us ; a marriage  eminently  glorious  and  advantageous 
to  Joseph,  and  which  offers  the  most  beautiful  specta- 
cle of  holiness  ever  witnessed  upon  earth. 

Let  us  reflect  that  God  was  the  author  of  that  mar- 
riage, and  that  he  wished  it  for  the  execution  of  his 
merciful  designs  upon  men.  It  is,  in  truth,  in  the 
order  of  his  providence,  to  accomplish  his  will  in  re- 
gard to  his  servants  by  means  of  his  servants,  whom  he 
directs  at  pleasure,  according  to  the  laws  of  his  wis- 
dom. When,  then,  in  his  eternal  designs,  he  resolved 
to  create  the  most  holy  Virgin,  whom  he  destined 
to  be  the  mother  of  his  adorable  Son.  He  decreed 
at  the  same  time  all  the  means  by  which  he  was  to 
accomplish  his  designs  in  reference  to  her  and  the 
world.  He  selected,  besides,  the  heavenly  spirit  who 
was  to  be  her  invisible  guardian,  the  archangel  who 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


25 


was  to  bear  the  divine  message,  to  salute  her  as  “ full 
of  grace,”  and  to  obtain  her  consent  for  the  work  of 
the  redemption  of  the  world : such  were  the  heavenly 
representatives.  But  Mary,  the  Queen  of  Angels,  was 
also  the  daughter  of  Adam  and  of  Eve ; it  was,  then, 
according  to  order  that  men  should  concur  in  the 
designs  of  the  divine  Wisdom  upon  her.  On  that  ac- 
count the  Most  High  also  selects  him  of  the  children 
of  Israel  who  was  to  be  the  visible  guardian  of  that 
immaculate  Virgin,  who  was  to  protect  her,  to  provide 
for  her  wants,  to  speak  to  her  in  the  name  of  heaven — 
to  be,  in  a word,  in  her  regard,  his  representative,  and 
the  personification  of  his  providence. 

Yes,  he  chooses  him  whom  he  destines  for  so  great 
a mystery,  and  that  man  is  Joseph  who,  by  that  very 
destiny,  is  raised  to  a supereminent  degree  of  grace 
and  glory.  Yes,  it  is  by  Joseph  that  God  the  Father 
will  protect  his  beloved  daughter — that  God  the  Son 
will  take  care  of  his  most  holy  Mother — that  God  the 
Holy  Ghost  will  watch  over  his  spotless  spouse  ; it  is 
by  Joseph  that  the  most  Holy  Trinity  will  veil  from 
the  eyes  of  men  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  and 
will  preserve  the  Infant  God  and  his  Virgin  Mother 
from  all  danger. 

O Joseph,  how  glorious  is  the  choice  that  is  made 
of  you ! You  must  have  been  very  pure  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Lord,  since  he  judged  you  worthy  to  dwell  with 
the  immaculate  Virgin ! 

If  an  angel  had  been  charged  to  choose  a husband 
for  Mary,  he  would  certainly  have  cast  his  eyes  on  the 
most  perfect  man,  gifted  with  the  most  happy  and 

most  amiable  character,  having  a most  loving  heart, 

2 


26 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


an  upright  will,  and  a most  innocent  soul.  This  choice 
was  made  by  the  Holy  Ghost ; St.  Joseph  possessed, 
therefore,  all  these  qualities.  The  holy  Gospel  in 
giving  him  the  title  of  Just , presents  him  to  us  as 
possessing  in  a most  elevated  degree  all  the  virtues 
'that  had  shown  with  most  splendor  in  the  just  men  of 
the  old  law.  The  worthy  husband  of  Mary  should 
be,  in  truth,  more  innocent  than  Abel,  more  obedient 
than  Abraham,  more  faithful  than  Moses,  more  hum- 
ble than  David,  more  pious  than  Ezechias,  more 
courageous  than  Judas  Machabeus;  he  should  unite 
in  himself  all  the  characteristics  of  justice,  by  which 
these  holy  personages  had  pleased  God,  since  God 
chose  him  for  a ministry  more  elevated  in  dignity 
than  those  they  had  fulfilled. 

Joseph,  says  St.  Bernard,  was  created  in  the  resem- 
blance of  the  Virgin,  his  spouse — a resemblance  that 
it  is  easy  to  recognize  when  we  examine  the  characters 
and  virtues  of  those  two  privileged  souls. 

Mary  was  saluted  by  the  angel  as  full  of  grace,  and 
Joseph  was  called,/^  by  the  Holy  Ghost;  Mary  is  a 
Virgin  conceived  without  sin,  and  Joseph  is  the  purest 
of  the  children  of  men  : those  two  are  the  lilies  among 
which  the  eternal  Wisdom  found  delight.  Mary  was 
to  be  the  mother  of  Jesus ; Joseph  was  chosen  to  be 
his  foster-father  and  guardian.  Both  were  to  con- 
secrate their  existence  and  lavish  numberless  cares 
upon  the  Infant  God,  who  made  himself  their  son. 
Both  loved  him  with  a love  which  we  cannot  compre- 
hend ; both  were,  therefore,  to  participate  in  the  same 
glory,  and  to  be,  in  a certain  degree,  objects  of  the 
same  worship.  Mary  was  taken  up  into  heaven  in 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


27 


body  and  in  soul,  and  everything  leads  us  to  believe 
that  Joseph  had  the  same  privilege  on  the  day  of  the 
Ascension  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Mary  is  our 
advocate  with  Jesus ; Joseph  is  likewise  our  special 
protector  with  that  divine  Saviour.  St.  Bernard 
teaches  that  it  has  never  been  heard  of  that  any  one 
who  had  recourse  to  Mary  was  rejected  by  her ; St. 
Theresa  assures  us  that  no  one  ever  invokes  St.  Joseph 
without  experiencing  his  assistance. 

By  these  traits  of  resemblance  we  understand  what 
is  the  greatness,  the  dignity  of  Joseph,  and  how  much 
God  has  favored  him  by  uniting  him  to  the  most  holy 
Virgin ; we  understand  how  he  has  honored  him,  and 
made  him  worthy  of  the  admiration  of  the  angels,  by 
giving  him  authority  over  the  Queen  of  heaven — by 
placing  him  before  the  eyes  of  men  above  her  in  whose 
presence  all  the  hosts  of  heaven  prostrate  them- 
selves. 

The  marriage  of  Joseph  with  Mary  is,  therefore, 
eminently  glorious  to  him  ; it  is  also  the  source  of  the 
greatest  spiritual  advantages  to  him.  If  he  was  holy 
before  contracting  it,  how  much  holier  must  he  have 
become  after  having  had  that  happiness  ? 

Who,  indeed,  can  tell  us  the  virtues  he  practiced, 
and  consequently  the  merits  he  acquired,  in  the  com- 
pany of  the  most  holy  Virgin  ! The  angels  themselves 
could  not  comprehend  the  greatness  thereof.  The 
soul  of  Joseph  became  more  and  more  like  to  that  of 
Mary.  Both  were  the  worthy  objects  of  the  com- 
placency of  God.  What  lively  faith  in  the  great  mys- 
teries that  were  being  accomplished  ! what  firm 
hope  in  the  Divine  promises  ! what  ardent  love  for 


28 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


God!  Is  it  not  sufficient  to  consider  them  as  two 
seraphim  endeavoring  to  excite  each  other  to  more 
ardent  love  ? What  fervor  in  their  prayers  to  hasten 
the  coming  of  the  Redeemer  of  men ! what  fidelity 
in  the  observance  of  the  law!  what  submission  to 
the  decrees  of  Providence ! what  recollectedness  as 
to  the  holy  presence  of  God  ! and  what  love  for  retreat, 
silence,  and  meditation ! 

Such  is  the  picture,  though  but  an  imperfect  one,  of 
what  passed  in  the  holy  cottage  of  Nazareth,  which 
was  nothing  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  but  which  was 
so  honorable  in  the  eyes  of  God.  How,  then,  can 
we  sufficiently  honor  those  two  holy  personages  who 
dwelt  there,  and  who  there  fulfilled  their  sublime 
mission ! 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  celebrate  with  the  Church  the  holy  marriage 
of  Joseph  and  Mary,  and  let  us  congratulate  our  holy 
protector  on  the  choice  that  God  made  of  him. 

Let  us  admire  the  virtues  that  reigned  in  their 
humble  dwelling  in  Nazareth,  and  which  are,  in  truth, 
worthy  of  the  admiration  of  men  and  angels ; but, 
above  all,  let  us  apply  ourselves  to  reproduce  them 
in  our  conduct.  Consecrated  to  God  in  the  religious 
state,  associated  together  the  better  to  procure  his 
glory  and  mutually  help  each  other  in  virtue,  let  each 
of  us  do  what  depends  on  him  to  make  our  communi- 
ties resemble  the  abode  of  Joseph  and  the  most  holy 
Virgin. 

Like  them,  let  us  only  act  from  motives  of  faith ; let 
us  practice  a true  love  to  God,  and  establish  and  main- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


29 


tain  among  ourselves  the  closest  union.  It  is  by  this 
means  we  shall  please  our  Sovereign  Master,  and  make 
ourselves  worthy  of  the  glory  he  destines  for  us. 

PRAYER. 

Great  St.  Joseph!  Mary,  your  glorious  spouse,  is  our 
mother : be  thou  also  our  father.  Look  down  upon 
your  children  who  at  this  moment  implore  your  help, 
and  obtain  for  them  the  grace  to  make  themselves 
worthy  of  you,  by  the  imitation  of  your  virtues.  Main- 
tain in  all  Christian  families,  but  especially  in  our 
communities,  peace,  union,  and  concord,  so  that,  being 
faithful  images  of  the  holy  house  of  Nazareth,  God 
may  be  pleased  to  pour  down  upon  them  his  most 
abundant  blessings. 

R&SUM&. 

Let  us  consider  how  glorious  and  advantageous  to  St. 
Joseph  was  his  marriage  with  the  most  holy  Virgin. 

God  willed  that  his  creatures  should  concur  in  his 
designs  with  regard  to  Mary  ; an  archangel  was  to  salute 
her  as  full  of  grace,  and  be  his  representative  taken  from 
the  heavenly  hosts.  But  there  needed  a representative 
of  God  taken  from  among  men  That  representative  was 
Joseph. 

How  glorious  to  him  was  such  a choice.  Had  an 
angel  been  appointed  to  choose  a husband  for  the  most 
holy  Virgin,  his  choice  would  evidently  have  fallen  upon 
the  man  possessed  of  the  greatest  merit ; but  it  was  the 
Holy  Ghost  himself  who  made  that  choice. 

Let  us  honor  St.  Joseph,  who  received,  in  anticipation, 
so  many  graces,  and  let  us  congratulate  him  on  the  great 


30 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


advantages  of  which  his  marriage  with  Mary  was  the 
source. 

Let  us  reflect  on  the  degree  of  perfection  to  which  he 
raised  himself  when  in  the  company  of  the  most  holy 
Virgin.  Let  us  ask  ourselves  what  virtues  he  practiced 
with  his  virgin  spouse.  What  faith ! what  hope ! what 
charity ! What  union  ! what  concord  ! what  respect  one 
for  the  other ! What  recollectedness  as  to  the  holy  pres- 
ence of  God! 

Let  us  not  forget  that  every  Christian  society  should 
strive  to  reproduce  that  union  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  and 
that  our  communities  ought  to  be  a faithful  image  of  the 
holy  house  of  Nazareth. 

Fruits. — To  respect  and  honor  our  brothers  ; to  live  in  the  greatest 
union  with  them. 


FOURTH  MEDITATION. 

ST.  JOSEPH,  NURSING  FATHER  OF  THE  CHILD  JESUS. 


“ Take  this  child,  and  nurse  him  for  me  : I will  give  thee  thy  wages.’  ’ 

— Exodus  ii.  9. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  consider  with  all  the  attention  of  which  we 
are  capable,  what  were  the  great  designs  of  divine 
Wisdom  in  regard  to  St.  Joseph,  and  the  favors  that 
were  communicated  to  him  in  consequence  of  his 
marriage  to  Mary,  the  glorious  Mother  of  our  Sa- 
viour. 

From  the  moment  when  the  Word  offered  himself 
to  his  Father,  and  said  to  him,  Burnt-offering  and  sin- 
offering  tliou  didst  not  require : then  said  7,  Behold , I 
come*  it  was  decided  in  the  designs  of  the  most  holy 
Trinity  that  God  the  Son  should  become  man,  and 
come  to  dwell  among  us,  to  be  the  victim  of  our  re- 
conciliation, and  the  mediator  between  heaven,  and 
earth,  and  then  everything  was  decreed  that  had  ref- 
erence to  that  great  work  of  mercy. 

The  divine  Word  was  to  put  on  our  nature  with  all 
its  infirmities,  to  pass  through  the  different  ages  of 
life,  to  become  a child,  to  humble  himself  so  as  to  re- 
ceive in  his  feebleness  all  the  helps  that  were  then 
become  necessary.  It  was  needful,  therefore,  that 

° Ps.  xxxix.  8 


32 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Providence  should  choose  for  him  a protector,  a guar- 
dian, an  adopted  father,  who  might  share  with  his 
most  holy  Mother  all  the  cares  he  might  need,  and 
to  whom  both  mother  and  child  might  be  entrusted. 
It  was  Joseph  for  whom  this  admirable  mission  was 
destined. 

O glorious  choice ! O sublime  ministry ! Joseph  is 
chosen  by  God  to  represent  him  with  his  divine  Son ! 
Joseph  is  going  to  share  with  God  that  title  of  Father, 
which  is  the  subject  of  the  infinite  glory  and  happiness 
of  the  first  person  of  the  adorable  Trinity ! To  him 
also  the  divine  Word  will  say,  “ You  are  my  father ; ” 
for  he  will  represent  his  eternal  Father  in  his  regard. 

What  perfections  are  yours,  O Joseph,  who  have 
been  the  object  of  such  a choice ! What  sentiments 
has  God  placed  in  your  heart,  to  make  you  his  repre- 
sentative with  Him  who  is  the  object  of  his  infinite 
love  ? What  has  he  then  seen  in  you  to  single  you 
thus  among  men  in  so  glorious  a manner  ? 

He  has  seen  your  fidelity  in  corresponding  to  his 
graces ; he  has  seen  your  love  for  justice  ; he  has  seen 
the  purity  of  your  heart,  and  your  zeal  for  virtue,  and 
he  said : “I  have  found  the  Son  of  David,  who  is  a man 
wholly  according  to  my  heart;  and  whom  I will  make 
use  of  to  accomplish  the  great  designs  of  my  mercy.” 

The  choice  which  God  made  of  Joseph  proves  that 
his  soul  was  endowed  with  all  heavenly  gifts,  and  that 
he  had  the  purity  of  will  which  God  requires  to  oper- 
ate great  things  by  human  means.  His  mission  of 
foster-father  to  Jesus  is  eminently  glorious  to  him,  if 
considered  in  its  cause : it  is  equally  so,  if  considered 
in  itself. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


33 


In  what,  in  reality,  does  it  consist  ? Is  it  not  in 
being  the  guardian,  the  protector,  the  support  of  the 
Infant  God  ? Now,  what  can  be  conceived  more  ex- 
cellent ? 

He  of  whom  it  is  written,  Thou  openest  thy  hand , 
and  Jillest  with  blessings  every  living  creature  ; * he  who 
feeds  all  that  lives,  wishes  to  be  fed  by  Joseph,  and  to 
ask  from  him  his  daily  bread.  What  humility  on  the 
part  of  God ! but  what  a dignity  to  the  man  towards 
whom  he  places  himself  in  such  a state  of  dependence  ! 

God  has  said  to  Israel,  If  I should  be  hungry  I would 
not  tell  thee : for  the  world  is  mine , and  the  fullness  there- 
of; t and  behold,  nevertheless,  how  this  adorable  Mas- 
ter, became  man  for  love  of  us,  addresses  himself  to 
one  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  stretches  out  to  him 
his  divine  hands  to  receive  from  him  his  nourishment. 

But  Joseph  not  only  provided  for  the  wants  of 
Jesus,  he  had  also  the  most  intimate  relations  with 
him. 

Let  us  dwell,  O Christians!  in  contemplation  on 
that  holy  patriarch  pressing  in  his  arms,  and  to  his 
heart  the  God  who  had  made  himself  his  adopted 
child.  Let  us,  like  the  angels  of  heaven,  be  astonished 
that  on  the  bosom  of  a poor  workman  reposes  the 
King  of  glory,  who,  out  of  love,  gives  him  the  sweet 
name  of  father.  It  is  with  reason  that  the  Church 
exclaims : “ You  receive  the  Lord  into  your  arms. 
Others,  0 Joseph ! are  glorified  after  their  death,  and 
placed  in  the  ranks  of  the  heavenly  spirits ; but  you, 
equal  and  even  superior  to  the  saints,  enjoy  even  in 
this  life  the  presence  of  your  God.”  $ 

° Ps.  cxliv.  16.  f Ps.  xlix.  12.  J Hymn  to  St.  Joseph. 


34 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


The  relations  of  Joseph  with  the  Incarnate  Word 
are  above  the  grasp  of  our  understanding.  They  are 
so  excellent  that,  in  recalling  them  to  mind,  the  soul 
can  only  remain  silent  in  sentiments  of  the  profound- 
est  admiration.  They  make  us  understand  how  God 
has  elevated  that  holy  patriarch,  and  what  sublime 
virtues  he  practised  in  the  exercise  of  his  exalted  min- 
istry. 

But  let  us  again  contemplate  Joseph  pressing  Jesus 
in  his  arms ; let  us  see  his  heart  so  near  to  the  heart 
of  the  Infant  God,  and  receiving  the  influence  of  the 
purest,  the  most  ardent,  the  most  generous  love  that 
ever  was,  or  will  be,  and  we  will  understand  how  Jo- 
seph loved  Jesus  with  all  the  love  possible  to  a crea- 
ture. How  could  it  be  otherwise  ? Representing  the 
Father  in  regard  to  the  Son,  he  participated  in  an  em- 
inent degree  in  the  infinite  love  of  the  Father  for  the 
Son : therefore,  he  loved  the  Infant  God,  and  he  loved 
him  without  measure.  His  love  for  Jesus  was  a love 
divine  in  its  source  as  in  its  object,  and  which  pro- 
duced all  virtues  in  him. 

Joseph  loved  Jesus,  and  as  a consequence  Joseph 
was  good,  pious,  courageous,  and  zealous;  his  mind 
thought  only  of  Jesus;  his  heart  sighed  only  for  Jesus; 
his  happiness  was  to  suffer  for  Jesus.  Joseph  loved 
Jesus,  and  Joseph  therefore  loved  all  men,  because  he 
saw  Jesus  in  all.  Joseph  loved  Jesus,  and  conse- 
quently he  desired  that  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  should 
be  established.  In  the  way  that  Providence  re- 
quired of  him,  he  labored  for  that  end  with  the  great- 
est purity  of  intention  and  the  most  perfect  disinter- 
estedness. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH 


35 


Let  us  not  be  astonished  that  the  mission  of  Joseph 
in  reference  to  the  Infant  God  was  eminently  advan- 
tageous to  him.  Let  us  praise  him  for  his  fidelity  in 
answering  to  the  designs  of  Him,  who  made  use  of  him 
for  so  exalted  a ministry.  Let  us  bless  the  Lord,  who 
glorified  him,  and  who,  by  the  favors  with  which  he  en- 
riched him,  permits  the  Church  to  apply  to  him  those 
words  of  holy  Scripture  : “ The  just  man  will  flourish 
forever  before  the  Lord.  The  Lord  loved  him ; he 
clothed  him  with  honor ; he  gave  him  a robe  of  glory. 
O Joseph,  the  God  of  your  father  will  be  your  protec- 
tor, and  the  Almighty  will  crown  you  with  blessings 
from  on  high.  Yes,  blessings  will  be  poured  forth 
upon  the  head  of  Joseph,  and  upon  the  head  of  him, 
who  is  as  the  Nazarene  among  his  brethren.55  * 

APPLICATION. 

Let  the  mission  of  Joseph  in  regard  to  the  Infant 
God  lead  us  to  have  confidence  in  this  great  saint ; for 
it  assures  to  him  all  power  in  heaven,  where  Jesus  is 
still  pleased  to  give  him  the  sweet  name  of  father,  and 
to  grant  him  all  that  he  asks. 

Let  us  see  in  the  Child  Jesus  all  Christians,  who  in 
truth  compose  the  mystical  body  of  our  Lord,  and  let 
us  understand  how  Joseph  is  the  protector  of  the 
whole  Church,  but  especially  of  Christian  children. 
Let  us  pray  to  him  for  all  the  faithful ; let  us  pray  to 
him  with  the  greatest  fervor  for  our  pupils,  and  let  us 
entreat  him  to  watch  over  their  souls  as  he  watched 
over  the  Child  Jesus. 

Let  us  see  in  Joseph  our  model  as  to  the  care  we 
% Office  of  St.  Joseph. 


36 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


should  bestow  upon  our  pupils ; for  God  has  said  to 
us,  to  each  of  us,  those  words  of  holy  Scripture : Take 
this  child , and  nurse  him  for  me : I will  give  thee  thy 
wages . 

Let  us  practice,  then,  in  the  exercise  of  our  duty,  the 
virtues  we  admired  in  St.  Joseph.  Let  us  love  Jesus 
in  the  person  of  our  pupils,  and  let  us  love  him  with 
that  efficient,  ardent,  courageous  love  which  makes 
one  forget  self,  so  as  to  live  only  a life  of  devotedness 
and  self-sacrifice. 


PEAYEE. 

Glorious  St.  Joseph!  who,  by  the  practice  of  all  vir- 
tues, didst  so  well  prepare  your  soul  for  the  sublime 
ministry  to  which  God  called  you,  and  who  afterwards 
didst  so  well  fulfill  its  duties,  without  suffering  yourself 
to  be  checked  by  any  obstacle,  obtain  for  us  the  grace 
of  discharging  well  the  duties  entrusted  to  us,  of  de- 
voting ourselves  to  them  through  love  of  J esus,  and  of 
never  seeking  anything  but  the  glory  of  that  adorable 
Saviour,  our  own  salvation,  and  that  of  our  pupils. 

RESUME. 

Under  whatever  point  of  view  we  consider  it,  how  glo- 
rious was  the  ministry  of  St.  Joseph  in  regard  to  the  di- 
vine infancy  of  Jesus ! . . . . 

The  divine  Word,  when  assuming  our  nature,  wished  to 
experience  all  its  miseries  : who  then  will  come  to  help 
him  in  the  wants  that  childhood  calls  for  ? Who  will  be 
chosen  by  him  to  hold  the  place  of  father  towards  him?. . . . 

Certainly  the  angels  would  be  honored  by  such  a mis- 
sion. . . .Yet  it  is  not  an  angel  who  is  chosen;  it  is  Joseph. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


37 


He  it  is  whom  the  eternal  Father  appoints  to  represent 
him  with  his  Son,  the  object  of  his  infinite  love. . . . 

Let  us  honor  St.  Joseph  for  such  a choice  which  pro- 
cured him  the  most  precious  graces  in  anticipation  of  it; 
let  us  honor  him  still  more  for  his  fidelity  in  correspond- 
ing to  them 

What  a glorious  mission  is  entrusted  to  him!  Joseph 
is  the  protector  of  the  Almighty;  he  feeds  Him  who  feeds 
every  creature  that  breathes  ; the  Son  of  the  eternal 
Father  obeys  him  as  if  he  were  his  own  son;  he  clasps 
in  his  arms  and  presses  to  his  bosom  the  Infant  God ! 

Ah  what  sentiments  arise  in  his  heart,  placed  so  near  to 
the  heart  of  Jesus!  Let  us  think  how  divine  love,  and 
consequently  all  other  virtues,  must  have  been  strength- 
ened thereby. 

Fruits. — To  honor  St.  Joseph  as  the  protector  of  the  Church  ; to  in- 
voke him  as  the  patron  of  Christian  children ; to  remember  that  the 
care  he  lavished  on  the  Infant  Jesus  are  the  model  of  those  we  owe 
to  our  pupils. 


FIFTH  MEDITATION. 


JESUS  OUE  MODEL  IN  THE  HONOR  WE  PAY  TO  JOSEPH. 


I honor  my  Father. — St.  John  viii.  49. 


CONSIDEBATION. 

These  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Jews 
referred  to  his  heavenly  Father  ; but  they  may  also  be 
applied  to  St.  Joseph,  whom  he  honored,  and  still  most 
truly  honors. 

Let  us,  then,  O Christian  souls ! contemplate  our 
adorable  Master  honoring  and  glorifying  his  adopted 
father.  Let  us  think  on  the  reasons  why  he  pays  him 
his  homage ; and  considering  that  He  is  our  model, 
let  us  entertain  the  greatest  veneration,  and  conse- 
quently the  truest  devotion,,  towards  our  glorious 
patron  and  protector. 

Jesus  honors  St.  Joseph  particularly  by  the  title  of 
father  which  he  gives  him,  by  the  dependence  in  which 
he  places  himself  towards  him,  and  by  the  acts  that 
are  the  expression  of  his  respect. 

Jesus  gives  Joseph  the  name  of  father . What  an 
honor  he  thereby  gives  him ! He  thus  places  him 
above  the  angels,  since  none  of  them  has  received  a 
title  so  excellent,  and  he  recognizes  him  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  his  heavenly  Father.  Does  he  not  honor 
Joseph  in  a sublime  degree  by  that  name,  which  he 
has  given  to  no  other  creature?  And  yet  he  seems 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


39 


to  honor  him  more  by  that  state  of  subjection  in  which 
he  places  himself  in  regard  to  him. 

The  Son  of  God  in  becoming  man  might  have  suf- 
fered, and  yet  stood  in  need  of  the  help  of  no  one 
upon  earth.  But  such  was  not  his  will.  For  reasons 
approved  of  by  his  infinite  wisdom,  he  wished  to 
participate  in  all  our  miseries,  to  pass  through  all  the 
phases  of  our  existence,  to  reduce  himself  to  the 
condition  of  an  ordinary  child — weak,  powerless,  in- 
capable of  defending  himself,  and  consequently  re- 
quiring assistance  and  protection. 

Let  us  consider  him,  at  his  entrance  into  life,  placing 
himself  in  the  hands  of  St.  Joseph,  taking  him  to 
serve  as  a support,  a master,  and  a guide,  entrusting 
himself  to  his  prudence  and  his  goodness,  saying  to 
him:  “Behold  me,  O my  loving  father!  I abandon 
myself  into  your  hands.  If  I am  cold,  you  will  warm 
me ; if  I am  hungry,  you  will  feed  me ; if  I am  per- 
secuted, you  will  protect  me  : in  all  circumstances, 
you  will  lavish  your  cares  upon  me.  And  on  my  side, 
acting  as  your  son,  I will  show  you  the  most  loving 
respect,  and  will  render  you  the  most  perfect  obe- 
dience.” 

Let  us  think  that  He  to  whom  we  apply  that  lan- 
guage is  the  Word  of  God,  who  raises  up  all  that  he 
touches,  who  gives  a supernatural  force  to  all  that 
comes  in  relation  with  him,  and  let  us  ask  ourselves 
what  honor  is  that  he  confers  on  Joseph  by  thus 
submitting  his  sacred  humanity  to  him. 

O holy  patriarch,  how  Jesus  honors  you ! He  who 
has  no  equal  has  given  you  authority  over  him.  He 
who  is  Omnipotent  has  put  himself  under  your  pro- 


40 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


tection ; the  supreme  Master  of  all  things  comes  to 
ask  your  assistance ! May  we  not  with  reason  ask 
which  is  the  most  wonderful — the  humiliation  to  which 
he  lowers  himself,  or  the  honor  to  which,  as  a con- 
sequence thereof,  he  raises  you  ? 

Yes,  Jesus  honored  Joseph  by  the  dependence,  in 
which  he  placed  himself  in  regard  to  him,  and  also 
by  his  acts  of  filial  respect  and  obedience. 

Who  can  give  us  to  understand  what  was  the  con- 
duct of  the  Infant  God  towards  his  nursing  father? 
In  what  terms  he  spoke  to  him,  with  what  reverence 
he  asked  of  him  what  he  needed,  with  what  out- 
pourings of  the  heart  he  expressed  his  love,  and  his 
gratitude  to  him  ? 

Oh ! how  pleasing  is  the  contemplation  of  such  a 
picture ! What  emotions  the  soul  experiences  whilst 
representing  to  itself,  for  instance,  the  divine  Child 
embracing  St.  Joseph  with  the  most  lively  affection, 
or  coming  in  the  mornings,  after  having  adored  his 
eternal  Father,  to  offer  the  homage  of  his  respect  to 
his  adopted  father ! How  is  the  heart  affected  when, 
advancing  to  a later  period,  we  contemplate  Jesus 
helping  Joseph  in  his  painful  labor,  sweetening  the 
hardships  of  it,  and,  in  intervals  of  rest,  allowing 
him  to  repose  his  head  upon  his  sacred  heart,  as  on 
a future  occasion  he  once  allowed  the  beloved  disciple 
to  do ! 

That  divine  Saviour  equally  honored  St.  Joseph  by 
his  obedience.  With  what  docility  and  promptitude 
did  he  fulfil  his  orders,  or  rather  with  what  zeal  did 
he  anticipate  his  wishes ! The  Gospel  distinctly  al- 
ludes to  it  by  these  words,  which  are  St.  Joseph’s 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


41 


highest  title  to  nobility  : He  was  subject  to  them.*  "What 
a spectacle  is  that  of  Jesus  fulfilling  with  the  greatest 
exactitude  the  will  of  his  adopted  father.  All ! doubt- 
less penetrated  with  confusion  at  the  sight  of  the  eager- 
ness of  his  Lord  and  his  God  to  do  what  he  ordered. 
Joseph  did  not  dare  to  command  him,  and,  on  the  con- 
trary, testified  to  him  that  he  would  count  himself 
more  happy  in  having  to  obey.  But  no  doubt  Jesus 
gave  him  to  understand  that  this  was  necessary,  in 
order  to  fulfil  all  justice.  By  this  means  he  wished 
to  give  the  world  an  example  of  submission  and  obe- 
dience, and  to  glorify  his  Father  by  subjecting  himself 
to  him  who  represented  Him  on  earth. 

Let  us  bless  our  divine  Saviour,  while  honoring  his 
dependence  on  his  adopted  father,  and  let  us  reflect  on 
the  reasons  that  induced  him  to  act  so. 

Jesus  honors  Joseph  because  he  considers  him  the 
representative  of  his  heavenly  Father,  and  because 
that  holy  patriarch  received  in  his  regard  all  the  rights 
of  a father  over  his  son. 

Jesus  honors  Joseph  because  he  recognizes  in  him 
true  features  of  resemblance  to  God  his  Father; 
because  he  sees  in  his  soul  an  image  of  Him,  whom  he 
adores,  and  whom  he  loves  with  an  infinite  subjec- 
tion and  love. 

He  honors  him  also  from  a motive  of  gratitude  for 
the  numberless  services  received  from  him,  and  for 
his  devotedness  to  his  interests  and  to  those  of  his 
most  holy  Mother. 

Jesus  honors  Joseph  because  he  wished  to  give  men 
an  example  of  the  respect  they  ought  to  have  for 
* St.  Luke  ii.  51. 


42 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


those  who  have  authority  over  them,  and  moreover 
because  he  wished  to  present  him  to  our  veneration, 
and  to  establish  the  devotion  of  which  he  is  the 
object. 

Let  us,  then,  listen  to  our  divine  Master,  who  says 
to  us,  in  reference  to  his  adopted  father,  “I  have 
honored  him ; honor  him,  you  who  are  my  disciples, 
and  you,  above  all,  who  have  been  made,  in  an  especial 
manner,  my  imitators,  by  the  grace  of  a religious 
vocation  with  which  I have  favored  you  : I have 
given  you  an  example , that  as  I have  done  . ...  so  you 
do  also .”  * 


APPLICATION. 

Everything  makes  it  an  obligation  on  us — an  easy 
one,  it  is  true,  but  still  a real  one — to  be  devout  to  St. 
Joseph.  Do  we,  then,  act  up  to  that  obligation  ? Have 
we  a true  devotion  towards  our  glorious  protector  ? 

Do  we  honor  him  as  well  as  we  can  ? What  do  we 
do  for  that  end,  and,  in  particular,  what  zeal  have  we 
for  his  glory  and  the  propagation  of  his  worship  ? 

Do  we  pray  to  St.  Joseph  with  much  fervor  and 
confidence  ? Do  we  pray  to  him  frequently  ? Do  we 
pray  to  him  for  those  who  are  dear  to  us,  and,  more 
especially,  for  our  Society,  which,  at  its  very  commence- 
ment, was  placed  under  his  patronage  ? 

Do  we  imitate  his  virtues,  and  do  what  is  the  essen- 
tial part  in  devotion  towards  him  ? 

If  our  conscience  reproaches  us  on  this  subject,  let 
us  form  the  resolution  to  change  our  conduct.  Let  us 
cast  our  eyes  once  more  on  the  Infant  Jesus,  honoring 
® St.  Jolin  xiii.  15. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


43 


his  foster-father,  and,  following  his  example.  Let  ns 
study  how  best  to  honor,  love,  and  glorify  him.  Let  us 
pray  to  him  with  fervor,  and  imitate  him ; we  shall 
thus  obtain  the  grace  of  going,  one  day,  to  heaven, 
there  to  continue  the  worship  of  veneration  which  wo 
pay  to  him  upon  earth. 

PEATEE. 

Divine  Child,  who  teachest  us  the  way  of  salvation, 
while  at  the  same  time  thou  meritest  for  us  the  grace 
of  walking  in  thy  footsteps,  grant  that  we  may  respond 
to  thy  wishes  in  the  worship  we  offer  to  St.  Joseph ; 
grant  that,  imitating  thy  example,  we  may  honor  and 
glorify  him  on  this  earth,  as  far  as  is  possible  for  us, 
so  as  to  obtain,  by  his  all-powerful  intercession,  the 
grace  of  going  to  honor  and  glorify  him  in  heaven. 

RESUME. 

Jesus  honors  St.  Joseph  by  the  state  of  dependence  on 
him  in  which  he  places  himself.  He  is  the  Most  High 
God,  and  yet  he  places  himself  under  him .... 

Jesus  honors  St.  Joseph  by  the  exterior  acts  of  respect 
he  shows  him .... 

He  honors  him  likewise  by  the  most  perfect  obedience 
to  his  slightest  wishes.  What  a title  of  nobility  are  those 
words  of  the  holy  Gospel : He  was  subject  to  them  ! 

Let  us  ask  ourselves  why  the  Infant  Jesus  so  honors  his 
adopted  father  ; let  us  reflect  that  it  is — 

IsA  To  honor  in  his  person  the  heavenly  Father  whom 
he  represents,  whose  image  he  is 

2 d.  To  express  his  gratitude  towards  him  for  his  ser- 
vices to  himself  and  his  most  holy  Mother. . . . 


44 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


3d.  To  give  men  the  example  of  respect  towards  those 
who  have  authority  over  them. . . . 

But  let  us  also  recollect  that  it  was  done  to  lead  us  to 
venerate  St.  Joseph. . . . 

Let  us  enter  into  the  designs  of  our  adorable  Master, 
and  have  a great  devotion  towards  him  whom  we  are  so 
happy  as  to  call  our  patron  and  protector 

Fruits. — To  reverence  the  statues  of  St.  Joseph ; to  pray  to  him  with 
fervor,  and  to  recommend  to  him  the  interests  of  our  congregation. 


SIXTH  MEDITATION. 


MATTY  OUR  MODEL  IN  OUR  DEVOTION  TOWARDS  ST. 
JOSEPH. 


* Come,  children,  hearken  to  me  ; I will  teach  you  the  fear  of  the 
Lord.’’' — Ps.  xxxiii.  12. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  represent  to  ourselves  Mary,  our  good  Mother, 
addressing  that  invitation  to  us,  and  telling  us  to  come 
to  her  to  learn  from  her  conduct  what  we  ought  to  do 
to  be  truly  wise  and  to  secure  our  salvation.  Let  us 
anwer  her  appeal,  and,  meditating  to-day  on  the  honor 
that  she  gave  to  St.  Joseph,  let  us  comprehend  that 
we  cannot  do  better  than  honor  him  as  she  did,  and 
practice  a true  and  solid  devotion  towards  him. 

Let  us  meditate  on  the  reasons  why  Mary  honors 
her  chaste  spouse,  and  on  the  acts  by  which  she  honors 
him. 

Mary  respected  and  honored  St.  Joseph  through 
duty,  gratitude,  and  motives  of  faith  ; and  she  testified 
that  respect  and  honor  by  instances  of  great  deference 
to  him,  by  the  services  she  did  him,  and  the  perfect 
obedience  with  which  she  always  accomplished  his 
will. 

Mary  honored  St.  Joseph  through  duty,  for  in  her 
character  of  spouse  it  was  according  to  the  law  of  the 
Lord  that  she  should  pay  him  respect  and  submission. 
She  also  honored  him,  and  had  the  profoundest  respect 


46 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


for  him,  out  of  gratitude,  for  she  appreciated  all  his 
devotedness  to  her,  and  still  more  to  the  Infant  Jesus. 
No ; never  shall  we  know  what  passed  in  the  heart  of 
that  divine  Mother,  who,  on  one  side,  loved  her  adora- 
ble Son  so  tenderly;  on  the  other,  understood  how 
much  her  holy  spouse  did  for  him  and  her.  What 
must  have  been  her  sentiments  of  gratitude  ! Doubt- 
less she  could  not  but  testify  it  to  him,  above  all,  when 
she  saw  him  devote  himself  to  the  painful  labors 
that  alone  provided  for  the  subsistence  of  the  Holy 
Family.  * 

But  in  addition  to  these  natural  reasons  why  Mary 
honored  St.  Joseph  there  were  others  of  a purely 
supernatural  order,  and  consequently  more  excellent. 

Mary  honored  St.  Joseph  because  she  regarded  him 
as  the  representative  of  God  in  her  regard — as  being, 
consequently,  her  lord,  her  master,  to  whom  she  owed 
respect,  service,  and  obedience. 

Mary  honored  St.  Joseph  because  she  saw  him 
greatly  honored  by  God  himself,  who  had  raised  him  to 
the  dignity  of  adopted  father  of  his  adorable  Son,  who 
had  entrusted  to  him  the  care  of  Him  who  is  the  sole 
object  of  his  complacency. 

Mary  honored  St.  Joseph  as  the  medium  through 
whom  God’s  orders  were  communicated  to  her;  she 
was  not  ignorant  of  his  direct  relations  with  the  angels, 
and  how  much  the  Holy  Ghost  was  in  him  to  direct 
him  in  all  his  conduct. 

Mary  honored  St.  J oseph  because  she  knew  his  per- 
fections— because  she  knew  how  pleasing  his  beautiful 
soul,  adorned  with  all  virtues,  was  to  God,  who  there 
made  his  tabernacle,  and  reposed  therein  with  delight. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


47 


Finally,  Mary  honored  St.  Joseph  because  he  was 
singularly  honored  by  the  Infant  God,  who  had  become 
his  adopted  son,  and  who,  with  so  much  affection,  tes- 
tified respect  for  him,  and  the  most  perfect  obedience. 
What  sentiments  were  awakened  in  her  soul  in  regard 
to  her  holy  spouse,  when  she  saw  that  divine  Saviour 
anticipate  his  wishes,  and  give  him  every  possible  mark 
of  esteem  and  love  ! 

Such  are  the  principal  motives  for  which  the  most 
holy  Virgin  honored  St.  Joseph — motives  which  led  her 
to  give  him,  in  all  circumstances,  proofs  of  her  respect 
and  submission. 

But,  O Christian  souls ! what  a subject  is  here  offered 
for  our  admiration ! Mary,  saluted  as  full  of  grace  by 
the  Angel  Gabriel,  who  spoke  in  the  name  of  the  Most 
High,  is  pleased  to  humble  herself  to  a humble  arti- 
san whom  Heaven  had  given  her  as  a spouse.  What  a 
glorious  homage  to  St.  Joseph ! It  is  the  Queen  of 
heaven  who  is  eager  to  testify  to  him  her  deference, 
her  esteem  and  veneration ! 

The  old  patriarch  Joseph  had,  in  his  early  boyhood, 
a revelation  of  the  glory  that  was  in  store  for  him. 
God  made  him  see,  in  a dream,  the  sun  and  the 
moon  doing  obeisance  to  him.  But  that  prophetic 
dream  was  verified  in  the  second  Joseph  in  a more 
excellent  way  than  in  the  first — since  Jesus  Christ,  the 
true  sun  of  justice,  and  Mary,  the  mysterious  moon 
shining  with  his  light,  paid  to  him,  as  their  head,  sub- 
mission, respect,  and  obedience. 

Christians ! let  us  contemplate  the  Blessed  Virgin 
honoring  her  holy  spouse,  speaking  to  him  with  all  the 
reserve  and  deference  which  his  office  of  father  and 


48 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


head  of  -the  Holy  Family  required,  and  performing  for 
him,  moreover,  all  the  services  she  could. 

Yes,  she  who  had  called  herself  the  handmaid  of  the 
Lord , could  also  say  of  herself,  “ I am  the  handmaid 
of  Joseph,  whom  God  gave  me  as  a spouse,  and  in 
whom  I honor  him.”  She  showed  herself,  in  truth, 
full  of  attention  and  solicitude  in  his  regard. 

Let  us,  then,  with  the  deepest  emotion,  contemplate 
Mary,  the  Queen  of  angels,  working  for  Joseph,  divid- 
ing all  her  time  between  her  duties  to  God  and  her 
duties  to  her  chaste  spouse.  She  whom  the  glorious 
spirits  think  it  an  honor  to  serve,  thinks  it  an  honor 
to  serve  a poor  artisan ; puts  it  among  her  chief  duties 
to  do  and  even  to  anticipate  his  wishes — thus,  by  her 
submission,  raising  him  above  the  angels. 

O Joseph,  how  you  are  honored  ! you,  to  whom  the 
Queen  of  heaven  and  earth  made  herself  obedient! 
you,  to  whom  she  paid  the  homage  of  the  most  constant 
and  entire  dependence ! 

Thus  the  most  holy  Virgin,  by  her  submission  and 
testimonies  of  respect,  honored  and  glorified  St.  Jo- 
seph. "We  then,  we  wTho  are  Christians,  and  wish  to 
walk  in  the  footsteps  of  our  good  Mother,  ought  to 
honor  him  by  every  means  in  our  powder.  We  have,  to 
excite  us,  the  example  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  we 
know  that  nothing  is  more  calculated  to  attract  to  us 
their  love  and  blessing  than  to  love  and  revere  him 
whom  they  so  loved  and  revered  during  the  thirty 
years  that  they  lived  with  him  upon  earth. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


49 


APPLICATION. 

Let  ns  love  St.  Joseph,  let  us  love  him  well,  and  we 
may  feel  assured  that  we  are  thereby  doing  what  is 
most  capable  of  developing  in  our  hearts  the  love  of 
Jesus  and  Mary. 

We  think  it  an  honor,  and  consider  it  a duty,  to  give 
our  love  to  Jesus  and  his  most  holy  Mother ; ought  we 
not  also  to  give  it  to  Joseph,  whom  they  both  loved  so 
tenderly.  Let  us  not  fear  that  dividing  our  affections 
will  diminish  our  love  for  our  divine  Saviour  and  his 
Mother.  No,  no,  they  make  but  one  with  Joseph.  To 
give  him  a portion  of  our  heart  is  no  more  to  weaken 
our  love  for  them,  than  to  love  his  most  holy  Mother 
is  to  weaken  our  love  for  Jesus.  > 

Let  us  love  and  honor  St.  Joseph.  By  that  means 
we  shall  imitate  Mary.  We  shall  do  what  she  wishes 
us  to  do,  and  we  shall  assure  her  protection. 

Let  us  love  and  honor  St.  Joseph  from  the  motives 
of  faith  and  gratitude  that  make  this  a duty  upon 
us.  We  see  in  him  our  intercessor  with  God,  our  good 
father  always  full  of  solicitude  for  our  congregation, 
and  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  an  infinite  number 
of  favors. 

Let  us  renew  our  confidence  in  his  protection  from 
the  thought  that  he  whom  Jesus  and  Mary  have  so 
much  honored  upon  earth,  must  be  all-powrerful  in 
heaven.  Let  us  be  persuaded,  that  to  have  a great 
devotion  to  him  is  the  most  direct  means  to  secure 
theh'  assistance,  and  through  it  our  preservation  in 
virtue,  our  advancement  in  holiness  and  final  perse- 


verance. 


3 


50 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PRAYER. 

O lioly  spouse  of  the  purest  of  virgins ! grant  that, 
in  union  with  her,  I may  honor  and  thank  you.  From 
a desire  to  imitate  and  please  her,  I consecrate  to  your 
honor  all  the  affections  of  my  heart.  Obtain  for  me 
a true  devotion  towards  you,  and  grant  that  I may 
also  succeed  in  inspiring  it  in  those  who  are  entrusted 
to  me ; so,  that  attracting  to  myself  in  this  way  the 
esteem  of  my  adorable  Saviour  and  his  most  holy 
Mother,  I may  deserve  to  go,  one  day,  to  praise  and 
thank  you  in  heaven. 

RESUME. 

We  esteem  it  an  honor  to  imitate  Mary,  our  good 
Mother  ; let  that  be  a motive  for  our  having  great  de- 
votion to  St.  Joseph,  whom  she  so  much  honored. 

Mary  honored  St.  Joseph  from  duty,  from  gratitude, 
and  from  motives  of  faith  ; for  she  saw  in  him  the  repre- 
sentative of  God  in  her  regard,  the  adopted  father  of  her 
adorable  son,  and  the  channel  through  whom  the  orders 
of  Heaven  were  transmitted  to  her. 

She  honored  him  because  she  knew  his  virtues — because 
she  saw  him  the  object  of  the  respect  of  the  Infant  God. 

She  honored  him  by  her  proofs  of  respect,  and  by  her 
deference  to  him  ; by  the  services  she  rendered  him,  and 
by  a perfect  submission  to  his  will. 

Let  us  contemplate  the  Queen  of  heaven  become  the 
humble  handmaid  of  a poor  artisan,  and  let  us  consider 
how  great  in  the  eyes  of  faith  is  he  who  is  thus  placed 
above  her. 

Fruits. — Not  to  separate  in  our  hearts  our  love  for  Joseph  from  that 
which  we  have  for  Jesus  and  Mary ; to  renew  our  confidence  in  St. 
Joseph,  for  he  is  all-powerful  over  the  hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary. 


SEVENTH  MEDITATION. 


JOURNEY  OF  JOSEPH  AND  MARY  FROM  NAZARETH  TO 
BETHLEHEM. 


“And  Joseph  also  went  up  from  Galilee,  out  of  the  city  of  Nazareth, 
into  Judea,  to  the  city  of  David,  which  is  called  Bethlehem.’'— St. 
Luke  ii.  4. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  contemplate  Joseph,  and  Mary,  in  their  hum- 
ble abode  at  Nazareth,  passing  their  days  in  retreat, 
prayer,  and  labor.  The  fulness  of  time  is  accom- 
plished. The  heavens  have  been  lowered.  The  Word 
of  God  has  assumed  human  nature,  and  is  soon  about 
to  appear  in  the  world. 

However,  it  is  not  at  Nazareth  that  the  Messiah  is 
to  be  bom,  but,  according  to  the  prophecy  of  Micheas, 
at  Bethlehem  of  Juda.  It  will  be  then  necessary  for 
Joseph  and  Mary  to  go  to  that  last  city. 

Let  us  here  admire  the  providence  of  God,  who, 
while  leaving  men  free  in  their  actions,  nevertheless 
conducts  all  things  to  their  end. 

At  that  time,  and  as  if  to  fulfil  the  decrees  of  the 
Most  High,  the  edict  of  Augustus  Csesar  was  pub- 
lished, which  ordained  the  numbering  of  all  the  na- 
tions of  the  Roman  empire.  Which,  enjoining  on 
the  Jews  to  have  their  names  enrolled  in  the  city  to 
which  they  belonged,  made  it  necessary  for  Joseph 


52 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


and  Mary  to  go  to  Bethlehem,  the  city  of  their  illustri- 
ous ancestors. 

Joseph  is  informed  of  the  edict  of  Augustus,  and  of 
the  obligations  that  arise  from  it  for  himself  and  his 
holy  spouse.  Adoring  the  decrees  of  God,  he  thinks 
only  of  executing  what  is  commanded  him  from  the 
purest  motives,  and  in  the  most  perfect  manner. 

Let  us  consider  him,  then,  deciding  with  Mary  to  go 
from  Nazareth  to  Bethlehem ; let  us  reflect  on  the 
character  of  their  obedience  on  that  occasion ; let  us 
follow  them  in  spirit  on  their  painful  journey,  and  let 
us  learn,  by  their  example,  what  we  ought  to  do  to 
respond  to  the  designs  of  God  regarding  us. 

Joseph  and  Mary  obey  from  motives  of  faith,  for 
they  recognize  the  authority  of  God  in  the  ruler  estab- 
lished over  them;  they  only  propose  to  second  the 
designs  of  Providence  in  their  regard ; they  act  only 
through  the  impulse  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  directs 
all  their  movements. 

Joseph  and  Mary  obey  simply — without  asking  for 
dispensations,  without  making  representations.  They 
obey  courageously,  not  allowing  themselves  to  be 
checked  by  the  length  of  the  way,  nor  the  severity  of 
the  season,  nor  the  other  difficulties  of  the  journey. 
They  obey  promptly  and  with  joy.  Scarcely  have 
they  known  the  will  of  Heaven,  when  they  put  them- 
selves in  a condition  to  execute  it ; and  they  do  it  with- 
out sadness,  without  repining,  although  it  is  very  pain- 
ful in  their  situation. 

It  is  because  Joseph  and  Mary  were  to  be  for  men 
the  models  of  perfect  obedience,  and  to  show  by  their 
actions  that  they  possessed  in  the  highest  degree  that 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


53 


sublime  virtue.  Let  us  learn,  then  from  them  to  obey 
with  faith,  simplicity,  courage,  joy,  and  promptitude. 
Let  us  learn  also  from  their  conduct  during  their  jour- 
ney from  Nazareth  to  Bethlehem,  to  suffer  patiently 
the  trials  to  which  Providence  subjects  us,  and  to 
make  out  of  them  a precious  source  of  merits. 

Joseph  then  proposes  to  himself  to  make  the  pain- 
ful journey  commanded.  He  speaks  of  it  to  Mary,  who 
is  resigned  to  it,  making  no  objection,  but  even  con- 
senting to  it  with  joy,  because  she  sees  therein  the  ful- 
filment of  the  will  of  Heaven. 

Yet  many  difficulties  must  naturally  have  presented 
themselves  to  their  minds,  and,  without  speaking  of 
those  that  proceeded  from  the  condition  of  the  most 
holy  Virgin,  was  there  not  the  length  of  the  journey? 
Would  it  not  be  necessary  to  furnish  themselves  with 
sufficient  provisions,  to  make  certain  of  shelter  for  the 
night,  and  to  take  precautions  against  the  severity  of 
the  season.  Now  all  that  was  almost  impossible  for 
Joseph,  who  had  no  resources  but  his  own  daily  labor. 
The  journey  he  is  about  to  undertake  will  therefore 
prove  a tedious  suffering  to  himself  and  Mary. 

Let  us  contemplate  these  two  earthly  seraphim 
journeying  t&wards  Judea,  walking  with  difficulty  over 
the  uneven  roads.  Let  us  accompany  them  in  spirit ; 
let  us  observe  the  privations  to  which  they  are  sub- 
jected. In  them  we  behold  the  most  illustrious  of  the 
descendants  of  David,  and  yet  they  have  no  inherit- 
ance but  poverty ; perhaps  even  they  are  in  destitu- 
tion, and  forced  to  ask  the  bread  of  charity. 

Let  us  think  on  what  St.  Joseph  suffers  in  his  heart 
at  the  sight  of  the  many  sufferings  and  privations  of 


54 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


the  most  holy  Virgin,  for  whom  he  was  unable  to  pro- 
vide all  that  was  necessary.  Oh  what  anguish  he 
feels,  and  how  that  suffering  is  increased  on  occasion 
of  each  repast,  at  the  beginning  of  every  night ! 

Yet  Joseph  is  not  disheartened,  nor  does  he  suffer  a 
murmur  or  complaint  to  escape  his  lips.  Like  Mary, 
he  practices  in  a perfect  degree  patience,  resignation, 
and  confidence  in  God.  The  sufferings  he  endures  are 
only  occasions  for  producing  acts  of  conformity  to 
the  Divine  will,  and  consequently  augmenting  his 
merits  in  heaven. 

But  St.  Joseph,  under  those  circumstances,  not  only 
teaches  us  patience  and  resignation  by  his  example, 
he  teaches  us,  moreover,  to  make  out  of  everything  an 
occasion  to  glorify  God,  and  especially  to  hold  no  con- 
versations with  each  other  unworthy  of  our  holy  state. 

We  contemplate  Joseph  and  Mary  crossing  together 
the  mountains  that  separate  Galilee  from  Judea  ; but 
let  us  ask  ourselves  how  they  occupy  their  thoughts 
during  that  journey— what  portion  they  gave  to  prayer 
and  meditation,  and,  above  all,  let  us  reflect  on  what  is 
the  subject  of  their  discourse. 

Ah ! it  is  not  the  business  of  the  world  that  occupies 
them.  What  care  they  for  its  politics,  its  riches,  its 
transitory  pleasures,  when  they  are  in  such  intimate 
relation  with  the  eternal  and  immutable  God?  No, 
there  is  but  one  subject  of  conversation  between  them 
— the  divine  Saviour,  the  centre  of  all  their  love ; the 
great  work  of  the  redemption  of  the  human  race  that 
is  at  hand ; the  mercy  of  God  towards  the  world ; the 
approaching  downfall  of  the  empire  of  Satan,  and  the 
future  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


55 


In  this  way  Joseph  and  Mary,  models  of  obedience 
and  resignation,  teach  us  by  their  example  not  to  oc- 
cupy our  thoughts  nor  to  hold  discourse  on  anything 
but  what  refers  to  the  accomplishment  of  God’s  work, 
the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  salvation  of  souls. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  strive  to  imitate  the  obedience  of  St.  J oseph. 
The  practice  of  that  virtue  exacts  sometimes  many 
sacrifices ; but  let  that  only  be  a reason  to  make  us 
more  faithful  in  clinging  to  it.  When  we  are  com- 
manded anything  difficult — anything  that  goes  in  op- 
position to  our  wishes,  that  even  imposes  great  priva- 
tions upon  us.  Let  us  cast  our  eyes  on  Joseph  and 
Mary  going  from  Nazareth  to  Bethlehem ; let  us  see  if 
they  had  not,  far  more  than  we,  occasion  for  pain  and 
sufferings;  and,  finally,  let  us  examine  ourselves  in  the 
presence  of  God,  and  judge  if  we  have  need  to  com- 
plain— we  sinners,  who  have  merited  hell,  and  whose 
condition  is  better  than  t^iat  of  the  purest  of  virgins, 
and  the  most  just  among  men. 

In  imitation  of  St.  Joseph,  let  us  practice  patience 
and  resignation  with  all  the  perfection  in  our  power. 
Let  us  consider  it  a true  happiness  to  sacrifice  our- 
selves for  the  accomplishment  of  God’s  will.  Let  us 
testify  in  the  trials  of  this  life,  that  we  desire  only  the 
fulfilment  of  the  designs  of  Providence. 

Let  us  imitate  Joseph  and  Mary  in  our  conversa- 
tions : let  us  not  discourse  on  this  world  from  which 
we  are  separated,  but  only  on  that  other  which  is  the 
object  of  our  hopes,  and  on  all  that  can  conduce  to 
bring  us  thither. 


56 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PRATER. 

O Joseph,  our  glorious  patron,  who  art  so  perfect  a 
model  of  obedience,  resignation,  and  piety  I deign,  I 
beseech  thee,  to  intercede  for  me,  and  to  obtain  for 
me  a true  love  of  the  virtues  you  practiced ; so  that, 
imitating  your  conduct,  I may  merit  a share  in  your 
recompense,  and  to  go  to  heaven,  there,  with  you,  to 
praise  my  adorable  Saviour  forever. 

resume. 

Let  us  contemplate  Joseph  with  Mary  in  the  humble 
house  at  Nazareth ....  The  time  prophesied  is  fulfilled; . . . . 
the  Messiah  is  soon  to  be  born,  but  at  Bethlehem. . . . 

An  edict  of  Augustus  Caesar  obliges  Joseph  to  go  to 
that  city Let  us  admire  in  this  great  saint  the  charac- 

teristics of  his  obedience — at  once  religious,  simple,  cour- 
ageous, prompt,  and  affectionate 

Let  us  contemplate  Joseph  and  his  holy  spouse  per- 
forming that  long  and  painful  journey Let  us  think 

on  what  they  suffer  through  the  difficulties  of  the 
road,. . . .the  rigor  of  the  season,. . . .their  own  state  of 

poverty; but  let  us  consider  their  patience  and  their 

resignation  to  the  will  of  God. 

Let  us  reflect  also  on  what  occupied  their  thoughts, 
and  what  was  the  subject  of  their  discourse 

What  examples  to  us!  and  how  they  condemn  our 
obedience  so  defective,  our  acts  of  impatience  so  fre- 
quent, our  conversations  sometimes  so  different  from 
what  they  ought  to  be  ! 

Fruits. — To  obey  in  a spirit  of  faith,  with  simplicity,  courage, 
promptitude,  and  joy ; never  to  give  way  to  complaints ; to  converse 
only  on  what  our  holy  rules  prescribe. 


EIGHTH  MEDITATION. 

JOSEPH  AND  MAEY  AT  BETHLEHEM. 


“There  was  no  room  for  them  in  the  inn.” — St.  Luke  ii.  7. 


COtfSIDEKATION. 

Let  us  contemplate  Joseph  and  Mary  completing 
their  long  and  painful  journey,  and  entering  into  the 
city  of  Bethlehem.  They  have  suffered  much  to  get 
thither,  and  yet  they  are  far  from  having  emptied  the 
cup  of  bitterness  prepared  for  them  ! 

After  the  fatigues  of  so  painful  a journey,  and  in  so 
inclement  a season,  they  stood  in  the  utmost  need  of 
some  suitable  lodging,  and  food  to  recruit  their  strength. 
They  required  hospitality,  and  they  had  the  more 
reason  to  count  upon  its  not  being  refused  them,  as 
they  were  in  the  city  to  which  they  belonged,  and 
where,  consequently,  they  ought  to  have  some  ac- 
quaintances, perhaps  even  some  near  relatives. 

Doubtless  it  was  to  them,  that  Joseph  first  addressed 
himself ; but  none  of  them  wished  to  receive  him,  so 
that  he  might  have  repeated  in  the  very  city  of  David 
these  words  of  the  royal  prophet : I am  become  a 
stranger  to  my  brethren .* 

Yet  Joseph  is  not  discouraged.  He  traverses  the 
streets  and  squares  of  Bethlehem,  and  applies  at  all 
the  inns,  but  everywhere  he  is  met  by  a pitiless  re- 


Ps.  Ixviii.  9. 


58 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


fusal.  Let  us  contemplate  him,  O Christian  souls ! in 
that  painful  search  for  a lodging  for  his  holy  spouse 
and  himself ! 

For  several  hours  he  wanders  about  that  inhos- 
pitable city.  Night  begins  to  come  on,  and  to  bring 
with  it  an  increase  to  the  sufferings  of  Mary,  already 
worn  down  by  fatigue  and  privations.  Let  us  see  him 
approach  an  inn,  the  only  one  not  yet  visited.  He 
stops  there  with  the  most  holy  Virgin.  He  knocks  at 
the  door,  and  asks  shelter  for  his  spouse  and  himself. 
They  look  at  him,  they  look  also  at  Mary ; and  their 
exterior  betraying  their  poverty,  they  are  answered 
there,  as  elsewhere,  that  there  is  no  room  for  them. 
Then  the  door  is  rudely  closed  upon  them,  not  to  open 
again  but  for  more  fortunate  visitors.  Ah!  who  can 
tell  the  anguish  that  then  pierced  the  soul  of  J oseph. 
But  it  is  not  for  his  own  sake  that  he  is  grieved,  but 
for  Mary’s. 

Let  us  consider  him  under  affliction  and  desolation 
of  heart  at  not  being  able  to  procure  a shelter  for  the 
most  holy  Mother  of  our  Beedeemer.  Let  us  see  him 
testify  to  her  the  sorrow  he  experiences,  while  he 
expends  every  care  possible  to  make  amends  for  the 
refusals  received,  and  the  privations  she  has  to  endure. 
Let  us  see  Mary,  also  afflicted,  but  perfectly  resigned. 
Let  us  hear  her  console  him  by  words  full  of  sweetness, 
and  that  manifest  only  contentment,  peace,  and  joy. 

But  let  us  here  make  some  reflections  on  the  in- 
justice and  blindness  of  men  who  are  the  slaves  of 
avarice. 

The  rich  are  received  with  open  arms  in  the  inns, 
and  Joseph  and  Mary  are  everywhere  rejected,  because 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


59 


of  tlieir  poverty.  Thus  the  Jews  refuse  shelter  to  the 
mother  of  that  Messiah  so  ardently  desired,  and  who 
is  the  object  of  their  most  cherished  hopes.  They 
welcome  opulence  because  it  throws  gold  to  them,  and 
they  reject  poverty,  which  might  make  them  find  favor 
before  God,  and  which  comes  to  them  offering  them 
in  return  infinite  riches  in  the  order  of  grace. 

Yes,  so  it  is  in  this  world  condemned  by  the  Gospel ; 
here  false  treasures  are  esteemed,  and  those  that  are 
true  are  despised.  Men  suffer  themselves  to  be  ab- 
sorbed by  material  interests  that  stifle  generous  senti- 
ments. In  another  way,  the  same  thing  takes  place 
to-day  that  happened  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  our 
Saviour ; Joseph  and  Mary  are  refused  admittance  to 
those  hearts,  that  do  not  wish  to  embrace  the  prac- 
tice of  honoring  them,  and  consequently  admittance 
is  also  refused  to  Jesus,  who  wishes  to  enter  by  their 
means. 

We  must,  then,  act  in  a very  different  way;  and  let 
us  on  that  account  be  full  of  compassion  and  charity  to 
the  unfortunate,  seeing  in  their  persons  Jesus  Christ  in 
poverty  and  suffering.  Let  us  be  devout  to  Joseph  and 
Mary,  and  open  to  them  the  door  of  our  hearts  ; for 
in  receiving  them  we  receive  Jesus  Christ,  and  with 
Jesus  Christ,  all  good  things. 

Let  the  indifference  for  Joseph  and  Mary  shown  by 
the  world,  be  to  us  a motive  for  redoubling  our  zeal  to 
make  them  known,  loved,  and  invoked  by  all  depend- 
ent upon  us.  Let  us  often  think,  that  if  our  pupils 
had  a true  devotion  to  the  most  holy  Virgin  and  her 
chaste  spouse,  we  should  have  done  them  a great, 
service.  Jesus  Christ  would  be  pleased  to  come  and 


60 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


reside  in  their  souls,  and  would  make  them  taste  in 
the  joy  of  a pure  conscience,  that  peace  which,  since 
his  birth,  has  been  the  inheritance  of  every  man  of 
good  will. 

Let  us  reflect,  in  the  second  place,  on  the  interior  dis- 
positions of  Joseph  and  Mary.  They  are  both  a prey 
to  great  sufferings.  Their  hearts  are  filled  with  anguish 
because  they  know  not  where  to  find  a shelter  at  the 
time  when  our  divine  Saviour  is  about  to  be  born ; but 
they  do  not  suffer  themselves  to  give  way  to  any  re- 
sentment. In  their  souls  there  is  only  the  most  per- 
fect resignation,  springing  from  a most  lively  faith,  and 
most  profound  humility. 

They  are  despised,  they  are  rejected,  but  nothing 
can  disturb  the  serenity  of  their  souls ; they  allow  no 
murmurs  or  complaints  to  escape.  Their  greatest  suf- 
fering is  caused  by  their  compassion  one  for  the  other, 
and  still  more  by  the  sight  of  the  injury  their  fellow- 
citizens  are  doing  themselves,  since,  by  rejecting  them, 
they  are  rejecting  the  God  that  comes  to  save  them. 
Perfectly  resigned,  they  do  not  suffer  themselves  to 
give  way  to  discouragement ; and  the  more  they  see 
themselves  deprived  of  the  help  of  men,  the  more  they 
strengthen  their  confidence  in  God. 

O Joseph  ! O Mary  ! how  beautiful  is  your  resigna- 
tion, when  seen  by  the  eyes  of  faith.  "With  what  love, 
then,  does  God  behold  your  afflicted  hearts  raised 
towards  him,  offering  him  your  sufferings,  testifying  to 
him  that  you  desire  only  the  perfect  accomplishment 
of  his  holy  will,  adoring  him  in  union  with  his  eternal 
"Word,  who  shows  that  he  does  not  wish  to  enter  into 
life  but  through  suffering  and  humiliation. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


61 


Joseph  and  Mary  are  united  to  God,  who  is  in  their 
company,  and  they  can  already  repeat  those  words 
which  St.  John  was  afterwards  to  write  of  him  : He 
was  in  the  world , and  the  world  was  made  by  him , and 
the  world  knew  him  not  He  came  unto  his  own , and  his 
own  received  him  not.*  They  understand  how  it  was 
to  be  that  he  should  be  unknown  and  despised,  and 
they  esteem  themselves  happy  to  be  with  him.  They 
adore  him,  inviting  all  mankind  to  be  like  him,  by  re- 
signation, under  suffering,  and  by  the  practice  of  humil- 
ity. They  thank  him  for  having  chosen  them  to  be 
the  first  to  tread  that  path  so  rich  in  merits. 

APPLICATION. 

What  lessons  for  us*  who  so  often  look  at  our  trials 
merely  from  a natural  point  of  view ; for  us,  who  can- 
not suffer  the  most  just  reproaches,  and  who  some- 
times lose  our  peace  of  mind  in  consequence  of  a char- 
itable remark  made  to  us ! What  a condemnation  of 
our  discontent,  and  murmurs  in  presence  of  the  few 
privations  we  have  to  endure ! 

We  complain  of  having  to  experience  the  effects  of 
poverty.  Ah  ! how  differently  would  we  act  if  we  con- 
sidered Joseph  and  Mary  at  Bethlehem,  without  shel- 
ter, without  means,  the  objects  of  contempt  and  refusal, 
and  how  happy  they  would  have  considered  themselves 
to  be  as  well  circumstanced  as  we  are — we,  poor  sin- 
ners, whom  God  treats,  as  to  temporal  matters,  with 
far  more  kindness  than  he  did  his  most  holy  chil- 
dren. 


* St.  John  i.  10,  11. 


62 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PRAYER. 

I submit  myself,  O my  God  ! with,  total  abandonment 
to  the  ordinances  of  your  will  in  my  regard.  Try  me 
in  the  way  that  will  be  pleasing  to  you.  Grant  mo 
your  grace  in  superabundance,  so  that,  in  my  trials,  I 
may  glorify  you  by  my  perfect  resignation.  I ask  you 
this  through  the  intercession  of  the  most  holy  Yirgin 
and  St.  Joseph,  whose  true  imitator  I desire  to  be 
through  the  whole  course  of  my  life. 

BfiSUMfi. 

Let  us  contemplate  Joseph  and  Mary  arriving  at  Beth- 
lehem ; let  us  see  them  worn  down  by  fatigue .... 

They  apply  to  their  acquaintances,  who  refuse  to  receive 
them.  They  knock  at  the  doors  of  the  inns.  They  are 
told  that  there  is  no  room. . . .What  grief  St.  Joseph  expe- 
riences ! Let  us  measure  it  by  the  affection  and  es- 

teem he  entertains  for  Mary,  for  whom  he  is  unable  to 
procure  even  a shelter. 

But  let  us  not  limit  ourselves  to  a simple  contempla- 
tion of  the  intense  sufferings  of  Joseph  and  Mary.  Let  us 
make  such  reflections  on  them  as  the  subject  naturally 
suggests. 

Let  us  not  imitate  the  inhabitants  of  Bethlehem.  Let 
us  be  full  of  compassion  for  our  neighbor.  Let  us  see 
him  in  Joseph  and  Mary  in  suffering. 

Let  us  pity  those  who  close  the  door  of  their  hearts  to 
Joseph  and  Mary,  through  whom  Jesus  Christ  would 
come  to  them,  and  let  us,  above  all,  keep  ourselves  from 
imitating  them. 

Let  us  train  our  pupils  in  a true  devotion  towards  the 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


63 


most  holy  Virgin  and  her  glorious  spouse,  for  that  devo- 
tion will  be  to  them  the  source  of  the  greatest  blessings, 
and  the  pledge  of  their  perseverance .... 

Joseph  and  Mary  have  to  endure  great  privations,  to 
experience  humiliating  refusals ; nevertheless,  they  are 
perfectly  resigned  : what  a lesson  to  us,  who  are  so  prone 
to  impatience,  perhaps  even  to  murmuring. 

Fruits. — To  be,  from  motives  of  faith,  resigned  in  adversity  ; to  have 
ourselves,  and  to  inspire  our  pupils  with,  devotion  to  the  most  holy 
Virgin  and  St.  Joseph. 


NINTH  MEDITATION. 


JOSEPH  IN  THE  STABLE  AT  BETHLEHEM. 


“ Joseph  adores  the  Infant  Jesns  laid  upon  straw.’ ’ 

— (Kesponse  Quicumque.) 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  contemplate  Joseph  and  Mary  refused  ad- 
mittance to  all  the  inns  in  Bethlehem,  and  obliged  to 
go  forth  from  that  inhospitable  city.  Night  falls,  and 
obliges  them  to  find  some  shelter  against  its  severities. 
They  search  for  this  for  a long  time,  and  at  last  meet 
with  an  abandoned  cave,  a poor  stable,  and  there,  in 
an  abandoned  spot,  open  to  all  the  inclemency  of  the 
season,  two  persons  most  eminent  for  sanctity,  and 
dearest  to  the  heart  of  God,  find  shelter ! They 
enter  there  without  complaining  of  the  men  that  have 
rejected  them,  without  allowing  themselves  to  entertain 
any  resentment  against  them,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
thanking  God  who  calls  them  to  walk  in  the  way  of 
humiliations. 

The  Lord  tries  those  who  profess  to  belong  to  him  ; 
but  then  what  graces  has  he  in  store  for  them  in  re- 
ward of  their  fidelity  and  courage  in  his  service  ! Let 
us  judge  of  this  by  his  conduct  towards  Joseph  and 
Mary  in  Bethlehem.  What  a favor  he  has  prepared 
for  them  in  that  poor  abode,  so  contemptible  in  the 
eyes  of  men,  and  which  is  about  to  become  the  first 
temple  of  the  new  law ! 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


65 


Let  us  consider  tliese  two  angelic  beings  lost  in 
holy  contemplation  of  the  mystery  that  is  about  to  be 
accomplished.  Night  is  half  way  in  its  course.  The 
hour  appointed  for  the  birth  of  the  Messiah  has  come. 
On  a sudden,  a heavenly  light  illumines  the  place 
where  they  are  prostrate  in  prayer.  The  divine  In- 
fant, the  Child  of  promise,  the  Expectation  of  Israel, 
the  Desired  of  all  nations,  appears  before  their  eyes. 
Mary,  always  a virgin  and  undefiled,  receives  into  her 
arms  the  God  who  has  made  himself  her  son.  She 
adores  him  with  the  most  unutterable  sentiments  of 
respect,  humility,  tenderness,  love,  and  happiness. 

St.  Joseph  kneels  in  prayer  beside  the  most  holy 
Virgin;  like  her,  he  contemplates  the  Infant-God; 
with  her,  he  adores  Him  in  sentiments  of  unutterable 
joy.  No,  no,  we  could  not  comprehend  what  passed 
in  his  heart ! The  seraphim  alone  could  express  in 
their  language  what  were  the  transports  of  his  love. 
O Joseph,  O holy  patriarch,  who  appeared  so  abject 
in  the  eyes  of  men ! you  are,  after  Mary,  more  hon- 
ored than  the  angels  themselves : the  Word  of  God 
makes  you  enjoy  his  adorable  presence,  and  commits 
himself  to  your  care.  The  holy  Virgin  has  placed  her 
divine  Son  in  your  arms.  You  hold  there  the  Lamb 
offered  up  since  the  beginning  of  the  world,  and,  first 
priest  of  the  new  law,  you  offer  him  up  to  Heaven,  a 
pure  oblation  for  the  salvation  of  mankind. 

What  sentiments  crowded  together  in  your  soul 
when  you  caught  the  first  look  of  Jesus,  resting  on  his 
holy  Mother  and  on  you,  and  when  you  said  to  your- 
self : “ Yes,  that  Child  whom  I gaze  on  with  so  much 
love,  and  whom  I cover  with  kisses,  that  Child  is  my 


66 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


God,  my  Saviour,  and  fclie  blessed  spirits  at  this  mo- 
ment adore  him  as  they  come  in  crowds  into  this  poor 
stable  to  present  him  their  homage  as  their  sovereign 

Eng” 

Ah!  what  did  Joseph  then  think  of  the  privations 
that  he  had  endured?  What  did  he  care  then  for 
the  contempt  of  men,  or  for  having  had  to  endure  hun- 
ger, cold,  and  weariness  ? . . . . He  is  overwhelmed  with 
joy.  The  moment  he  had  so  long  wished  for  is  at  last 
come.  Happier  than  Abraham,  than  David,  than  the 
prophets,  he  carries  in  his  arms,  he  sees,  he  presses 
to  his  heart  Him,  who  was  the  sole  object  of  their 
hopes. 

Let  us  congratulate  St.  Joseph  on  his  happiness, 
and  let  us  here  make  a reflection  that  has  more  direct 
relation  to  ourselves.  One  day,  we  firmly  hope,  we 
shall  have  the  happiness  of  beholding  Jesus  Christ  in 
his  glory : what  shall  we  then  think  of  the  sufferings 
and  afflictions  of  this  life  ? 

How  will  the  trials  appear  to  us  then  that  we  may 
have  had  to  undergo  in  this  land  of  misery  ? Shall  we 
even  remember  then,  when,  like  St.  Joseph,  the  con- 
templation of  the  Beloved  of  our  hearts  will  absorb 
all  our  thoughts,  and  exhaust  all  the  powers  of  our 
souls? 

Let  us  judge  now  of  our  sufferings,  as  we  shall  judge 
of  them  then ; let  us  not  even  occupy  our  minds  with 
them.  Above  the  sentiments  that  naturally  arise  from 
them,  let  us  build  up  the  hope  that  God  will  recom- 
pense our  sacrifices  by  allowing  us  to  enjoy  the  pres- 
ence of  his  Incarnate  Word  shining  with  all  the  splen- 
dor of  his  divinity. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


67 


Courage  and  confidence ! Let  us  remember  that 
sufferings  have  an  end,  and  that  he  who,  in  imitation 
of  St.  Joseph,  endures  them  with  faith,  and  resignation 
to  the  will  of  God,  is,  even  in  this  life,  abundantly 
recompensed. 

But  let  us  consider  in  St.  Joseph  not  merely  the 
happiness  with  which  his  soul  overflows ; let  us  reflect 
on  his  interior  dispositions,"  so  as  to  enter  well  into  the 
spirit  of  the  subject  we  are  meditating. 

The  first  sentiment  to  which  St.  Joseph  surrenders 
his  whole  soul  is  that  of  adoration.  He  offers  a perfect 
homage  of  submission  to  God,  who  veils  his  divine 
majesty  under  the  exterior  of  weakness  and  poverty. 
He  humbles  himself  in  his  presence,  and  glorifies  him 
in  his  greatness  and  his  omnipotence.  Although  Jesus 
shows  himself  but  as  a poor  child,  subject  to  all  the 
infirmities  of  our  nature,  he  recognizes  in  him  the  eter- 
nal Wisdom,  who,  by  a word,  drew  heaven  and  earth 
out  of  nothing. 

The  second  sentiment,  which  it  is  important  we 
should  remark  in  St.  Joseph,  is  that  of  his  love  for 
Jesus.  Oh  how  ardent  it  was ! Here,  indeed,  words 
are  powerless  to  express  the  reality,  to  tell  what  passed 
in  the  heart  of  that  holy  patriarch  at  that  solemn  hour 
of  the  birth  of  the  Messiah — at  that  moment  for  which 
the  world  had  been  preparing  for  four  thousand  years. 
How  can  an  idea  be  given  of  the  transports  of  his  soul 
towards  Jesus  at  that  moment  when,  with  his  eyes, 
he  beholds  the  Incarnate  Word — when  he  sees  God 
humbling  himself,  annihilating  himself  to  save  the 
world ! 

The  third  sentiment  to  be  remarked  in  St.  Joseph, 


68 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


and  that  which  is  a consequence  of  love  and  adora- 
tion, is  that  of  generosity,  of  devotedness  to  the  service 
of  Jesus.  Let  us  see  him  prostrate  in  prayer,  with 
Mary,  before  the  crib  where  the  Infant  God  is  laid 
upon  a little  straw.  "With  what  earnestness  does  he 
offer  himself  to  that  divine  Saviour,  to  live  and  to  labor 
only  for  him ! 

“ To  you,”  does  he  say,  “ to  you,  O my  God ! I give 
my  body  and  my  soul ; to  you  I give  my  time,  my  toil, 
my  liberty,  my  life.  To  you  I give  all  that  is  in  my 
power,  and  I feel  that  I can  do  much,  because  my  soul 
finds  in  you  the  source  of  unwonted  vigor  and  the 
most  undaunted  courage.” 

APPLICATION. 

In  union  with  St.  Joseph,  let  us  adore  the  Son  of  God 
becoming  man  to  save  us.  Let  us  adore  him  in  the 
crib,  and  let  this  intention  guide  us  when  we  recite  the 
prayers  prescribed  by  rule,  that  have  reference  to  the 
divine  Infancy. 

Let  us  adore  him  in  the  person  of  the  children  en- 
trusted to  us,  and  who  represent  him  in  our  regard. 
Let  us  adore  him,  above  all,  in  the  sacrament  of  his 
love,  by  which  we  are  in  his  adorable  presence  as  truly 
as  Joseph  was  in  the  stable  of  Bethlehem. 

Let  us  love  the  Infant  God ; but  let  us  love  him 
with  that  love  with  which  St.  Joseph  loved  him — with 
that  sincere,  ardent,  constant,  generous  love,  which 
desires  only  labor  and  sacrifices,  which  has  no  other 
ambition  than  to  sacrifice  itself,  which  is  only  afraid  of 
not  doing  enough  for  Jesus,  and  meriting  to  be  united 
with  him  in  heaven. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


69 


PEAYEE. 

O holy  Infant  Jesus,  whom  I behold  laid  upon  straw 
in  the  poor  stable  in  which  you  wished  to  be  born  ! I 
adore  you,  in  union  with  St.  Joseph,  your  adopted 
father ; like  him,  I recognize  you  as  my  God,  and, 
like  him,  while  contemplating  your  loveliness,  I open 
my  heart  to  unutterable  sentiments  of  love,  admiration, 
joy,  and  gratitude. 

Grant  me,  I beseech  you,  by  his  intercession,  that 
these  sentiments  may  always  remain  in  my  heart,  and 
that  they  may  produce  there  a great  zeal  for  your 
glory,  and  an  unlimited  devotion  to  your  service. 

r£sum£. 

Let  us  contemplate  Joseph  and  Mary  leaving  Bethle- 
hem, where  no  one  wished  to  give  them  hospitality 

wandering  about  in  the  fields stopping  before  a poor 

stable. . . .entering  there  to  pass  the  night 

What  trials  Providence  had  ordained  for  them ! 

Yes,  God  tries  his  friends  ; but  he  also  favors  them 
sometimes  by  many  sweet  consolations.  Let  us  judge  of 
them  by  those,  that  awaited  St.  Joseph  in  the  stable  to 
which  they  retired. 

What  passes  in  his  heart,  when  the  Infant  God  is  pre- 
sented to  him  by  the  most  holy  Virgin,  his  Mother  ! 

when  he  contemplates  him  and  adores  him  ! . . . . 

Ah  ! what  to  him,  at  that  moment,  are  the  trials  he  had 
undergone !...  .He  does  not  even  remember  them,  ab- 
sorbed as  he  is  in  the  contemplation  of  the  divine  Mes- 
siah — 

Let  us  congratulate  St.  Joseph  on  the  happiness  with 
which  God  rewards  his  fidelity 


70 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


In  union  with  him,  let  us  adore  the  Infant  Jesus let 

us  love  him,  and  devote  ourselves  to  his  glory. 

Adoration,  love,  devotion  to  God,  who  became  a child 
for  us,  ought  to  be,  as  it  were,  the  very  foundation  of  our 
hearts,  and  to  determine  all  the  acts  of  our  life. 

Fruits. — To  recite  the  offerings  to  the  divine  Childhood  with  great 
piety  ; to  he  very  zealous  for  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


TENTH  MEDITATION. 


INTERIOR  DISPOSITIONS  OF  ST.  JOSEPH,  ON  OCCASION  OF 
THE  ADORATION  OF  JESUS  BY  THE  SHEPHERDS 
OF  BETHLEHEM. 


“I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy.” — St.  Luke  ii.  10. 


CONSIDEBATION. 

The  birth  of  our  Saviour  is  a subject  for  great  joy. 
It  was  such  to  the  shepherds  to  whom  the  angel  an- 
nounced it  by  the  words  we  have  quoted ; such  also 
it  was  to  Joseph  and  Mary;  and  such  it  is  to  all 
Christians. 

Our  divine  Saviour,  who  was  afterwards  to  teach 
that  maxim  so  often  proposed  to  us  for  meditation, 
Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit , for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven ,*  wished  that  it  should  previously  receive  its 
fulfilment.  It  was  from  among  the  poor  and  simple  he 
chose  his  most  holy  Mother,  whom  all  generations 
should  call  blessed,  and  his  adopted  father,  who  shares 
the  glory  and  happiness  of  that  holy  Virgin.  They  are 
also  poor  and  simple  people  whom  he  calls  to  his  crib 
to  be,  after  them,  his  first  adorers,  and  to  taste  the 
happiness  of  enjoying  his  adorable  presence. 

Let  us  consider  the  shepherds  keeping  watch  over 
their  flocks  not  far  from  Bethlehem.  On  a sudden 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  appears  to  them,  a divine 


St.  Matt.  v.  3. 


72 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


brightness  surrounds  them,  and  all  are  seized  with 
great  fear.  But  the  angel  reassures  them:  Fear  not; 
for , behold,  I bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  that  shall 
be  to  all  the  people:  for  this  day  is  born  to  you  a Saviour, 
who  is  Christ  the  Lord,  in  the  city  of  David . And  this 
shall  be  a sign  unto  you:  You  shall  find  the  infant 
wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes  and  laid  in  a manger. 
And  suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel  a multitude  of  the 
heavenly  host  praising  God,  and  saying:  Glory  to  God 
in  the  highest ; and  on  earth  peace  to  men  of  good  ivill.  * 

Oh  what  reflections  this  consoling  subject  suggests 
to  us ! How  happy  are  those  shepherds  to  whom  the 
angel  announces  the  good  tidings ! What  motives  they 
have  for  confidence,  since  what  is  revealed  to  them  is 
a subject  of  the  greatest  joy!  Are  not  their  hearts 
filled  with  delight,  when  they  are  surrounded  by 
a divine  brightness,  and  their  ears  listen  to  the  song 
of  the  heavenly  spirits?  It  is  true,  then,  that  the 
maxim  may  be  applied  to  them : Blessed  are  the  poor 
in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  But  with 
still  more  reason  may  this  be  said,  if  we  consider  the 
sequel  of  the  Gospel  narrative. 

The  shepherds  behold  the  angel  ascending  to  heaven, 
and  when  they  have  disappeared,  they  say  one  to 
another : Let  us  go  over  to  Bethlehem ; and  let  us  see 
this  word  that  is  come  to  pass,  which  the  Lord  hath 
showed  to ' us.  Let  us  consider  them,  then,  going  in  all 
haste,  and  stopping  before  the  poor  stable  where  the 
Infant  God  was  then  the  object  of  the  adoration  and 
care  of  his  most  holy  Mother  and  nursing  father. 

Let  us  behold  St.  Joseph  going  to  meet  them, 
* St.  Luke  ii.  10-15. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


73 


listening  to  their  request,  introducing  them  to  the 
crib,  and  showing  them  there  the  Infant  Jesus,  laid 
upon  straw, _ and  wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes.  Ah  ! 
what  passes  then  in  their  hearts!  what  joy  penetrates 
their  souls  when  they  recognize  by  the  signs  given  them 
by  the  angel  that  this  infant  is  God,  the  Saviour,  the 
Christ.  He  who  is  come  to  bring  redemption  to  cap- 
tives, to  dry  the  tears  of  the  wretched,  and  to  fulfil  the 
promises  of  divine  mercy ! 

The  poorer  they  see  him,  the  more  they  feel  admira- 
tion, confidence,  and  love  increase  in  their  hearts. 
Let  us  contemplate  them  adoring,  in  union  with  Joseph 
and  Mary,  the  holy  Infant  who  makes  all  their  happi- 
ness, and  recognizing  the  truth  of  what  the  angel  had 
said  of  him.  Let  us  think  of  the  ineffable  consola- 
tions they  experience,  and  let  us  ask  ourselves  if  the 
maxim  of  the  divine  Master  is  not  likewise  fulfilled  in 
them : Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit , for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven . 

But  does  not  that  maxim  receive,  even  at  that  moment, 
its  perfect  accomplishment  in  St.  Joseph  ? Who  will  tell 
us  what  passes  in  his  heart  during  the  adoration  of 
the  shepherds  ? Instructed  like  them  by  the  voice  of 
an  angel,  he  adores,  like  them,  in  the  Infant  Jesus  the 
Most  High  God,  the  Messiah  promised  to  the  earth. 

St.  Joseph  desires  only  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ. 
What  a satisfaction  he  experiences  when  he  beholds 
the  shepherds  glorify  him  by  their  homage,  celebrate 
his  greatness,  testify  that  they  will  publish  what  is 
the  subject  of  their  admiration.  That  on  their  return 
they  will  tell  what  they  have  heard  and  seen,  and  that 
thus  they  will  make  that  divine  Saviour,  for  whom 


74 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


they  experience  in  their  hearts  so  ardent  a love,  known, 
and  loved  by  the  children  of  Israel  ! 

Joseph  sees  with  admiration  that  it  is  the  poor 
whom  the  angels  invite  to  be  the  first  courtiers  of  the 
sovereign  King.  He  understands  that  the  divine  Mas- 
ter is  come  to  teach  the  world  a contempt  of  riches, 
and  love  of  poverty.  He,  that  sovereign  Lord  hav- 
ing made  him  poor,  since  poverty  was  a condition  for 
the  singular  privileges  with  which  he  was  favored. 

O glorious  Joseph,  how  worthy  you  are  of  our  con- 
gratulations ! Doubtless,  the  shepherds  praised  and 
thanked  you,  after  having  adored  Jesus  and  honored 
his  most  holy  Mother ; no  doubt  they  said  to  you : 
“ You  are  happy,  O Joseph ! you  whom  God  has 
chosen  among  all  the  descendants  of  Israel  to  entrust 
to  you  this  Son  of  David,  who  is  the  Desired  of 
nations,  and  by  whom  true  liberty  will  be  given  to  us. 
Bless  the  Lord,  since  he  has  chosen  you  from  amongst 
all  his  children,  and  will  make  you  enjoy  here  below, 
through  the  -whole  of  your  life,  that  happiness  we  can 
enjoy  but  for  a few  moments  ! The  angels  of  heaven 
said  to  us : Peace  upon  earth  to  men  of  good  will . 
May  it  then  be  yours,  O Joseph ! who  has  merited 
by  your  virtues  that  God  should  select  you  as  his 
representative  with  his  adorable  Son.” 

And  we,  Christian  souls,  who  meditate  on  these 
wonders,  shall  we  not  offer  our  congratulations  to  St. 
J oseph,  whose  happiness  appears  so  much  superior  to 
that  of  the  shepherds  ? Yes,  let  us  bless  this  just  man 
so  privileged,  and  let  us  celebrate  the  glory  with  which 
God  rewards  his  merits. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


75 


APPLICATION. 

To  imitate  St.  Joseph,  and  enter  into  the  spirit  of 
the  mystery  we  contemplate,  let  ns  conceive  the  great- 
est esteem  for  poverty,  remembering  that  maxim  of 
the  Gospel,  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit , for  theirs  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven — a maxim  of  which  we  have 
seen  the  accomplishment  in  the  person  of  the  shep- 
herds of  Bethlehem,  and  still  more  in  that  of  the  most 
holy  Virgin  and  St.  Joseph.  Yes,  let  ns  esteem  and 
honor  poverty,  since  Jesns  has  so  mnch  honored  it. 

Let  ns  make  the  interests  of  that  divine  Savionr  onr 
dearest  interests.  Let  ns  devote  onrselves  with  true 
zeal  to  make  him  known  and  loved  by  onr  pnpils. 
Providence  has  sent  them  to  ns,  that,  in  imitation  of 
Joseph  introducing  the  shepherds  into  the  stable  of 
Bethlehem,  and  showing  Jesns  to  them,  we  may  show 
him  to  them  in  the  narrative  of  his  life  on  earth,  in  the 
person  of  their  neighbor,  and,  above  all,  in  the  holy 
Eucharist.  There  he  resides  as  truly  as  he  was  in  the 
crib  of  Bethlehem,  and  where  the  sacramental  species 
that  conceal  him  from  onr  eyes  are  but  the  swaddling 
clothes  that  enfold  him,  to  try  onr  faith. 

PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  yon  who  are  all-powerful  with  Jesns ! 
deign,  I beseech  yon,  to  present  me  to  him,  as  yon  pre- 
sented the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem.  Obtain  for  me 
that,  like  yon  and  them,  I may  pay  him  a true  homage, 
and  that  henceforth  all  my  words,  and  all  my  actions, 
may  have  no  other  end  than  his  glory  and  my  own 
eternal  salvation. 


76 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


B&SUM& 

God  wishes  that  from,  the  time  of  the  birth  of  his 
adorable  Son,  that  maxim  should  receive  its  fulfilment  : 
Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit , for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

Thus  Joseph  and  Mary  are  poor Thus,  also,  it  is 

poor  and  simple  people  who  are  invited  to  be  his  first 
adorers,  after  them. 

Let  us  recall  to  mind  what  the  Gospel  says  of  the  appa- 
rition of  the  angel  to  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem. . . .their 

terror ....  the  words  by  which  he  gives  them  courage 

the  celestial  harmony  that  charms  their  ears Oh  what 

joy  they  experience ! 

But  how  their  happiness  goes  on  increasing !...  .Let 
us  see  them  introduced  by  St.  Joseph  to  the  crib  wherein 

is  the  Infant  God Let  us  contemplate  them  adoring 

him  in  union  with  Joseph  and  Mary. . . .Let  us  think  of 
what  passes  in  their  hearts,  and  say  again  : Blessed  are  the 
poor . 

Let  us  consider  that  this  maxim  received  its  fulfilment 
in  St.  Joseph.  "What  joy  the  adoration  of  the  shepherds 
causes  him  who  has  no  other  desire  than  the  glory  of 
Jesus ! 

Joseph  understands  also  the  doctrine  which  the  divine 
Word  has  come  to  teach  men  regarding  poverty  ; he 
blesses  Providence  for  having  made  him  poor,  since  that 
was  a condition  for  the  privileges  he  enjoys. 

Let  us  represent  to  ourselves  the  shepherds,  thanking 
him,  and  judge  if  there  was  ever  more  reason  to  repeat 
that  holy  maxim  : Blessed  are  the  poor,  for  theirs  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven .... 

Fruits. — To  glorify  St.  Joseph  by  all  the  means  in  our  power  ; to  be 
very  zealous  in  making  Jesus  Christ  known,  loved,  and  adored. 


ELEVENTH  MEDITATION. 


INTERIOR  DISPOSITIONS  OP  ST.  JOSEPH,  ON  OCCASION  OP 
THE  ADORATION  OP  THE  MAGI. 


“ Where  is  he  that  is  bom  King  of  the  Jews  ? for  we  have  seen  his  star 
in  the  east,  and  we  are  come  to  adore  him.”— St.  Matt.  ii.  2. 


CONSIDERATION. 

The  shepherds  who  came  to  adore  the  Infant  God 
in  the  stable  of  Bethlehem,  represented  the  poor  and 
the  simple ; but  Jesus  Christ,  being  the  Saviour  of  the 
whole  human  race,  should  also  receive,  at  his  birth, 
the  homage  of  the  learned  and  rich  of  this  world.  He 
should  be  adored  at  first  by  persons  belonging  to  the 
Jewish  race,  the  depositary  of  the  promises,  but  after- 
wards by  representatives  of  the  Gentiles. 

Behold  the  reason  why  the  Magi,  when  struck  by 
the  appearance  of  a new  star,  recollect  that  Balaam 
had  spoken  of  it  as  being  the  signal  of  the  coming  of 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world.  Urged  inwardly  by  the 
grace  of  Him  whose  birth  it  manifests  to  them,  they 
consider  it  their  duty  to  go  and  offer  him  the  hom- 
age of  their  adoration. 

Let  us  behold  them,  guided  by  this  marvellous  star, 
going  at  first  to  Jerusalem,  and  afterwards  directing 
their  steps  to  Bethlehem,  the  city  pointed  out  by  the 
prophets  as  the  birthplace  of  the  Messiah. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  eyes  to  St.  Joseph  : let  us  con- 


78 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


template  that  holy  patriarch  receiving  these  holy  and 
distinguished  strangers,  and  hearing  them  address  to 
him  this  question : “ Where  is  he  that  is  horn  King  of 
the  Jeivs  ? for  we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east . We 
have  followed  it,  and  it  has  stood  over  this  place.” 

What  passes  in  his  soul  when  he  learns  the  object  of 
the  visit  of  these  princes,  who  represent  the  whole  Gen- 
tile people  ? St.  Joseph  acts  towards  them  as  towards 
the  shepherds  : he  introduces  them  into  the  house, 
where  they  find  the  Child  with  Mary  his  Mother .*  He 
shows  them  Him  whom  they  are  come  so  far  to  seek, 
who  is  so  justly  called  the  Desired  of  nations,  who  was 
to  make  one  people  out  of  all  tribes  and  nations — the 
Saviour  God,  who  was  to  die  for  the  redemption  of  the 
world,  and  who,  on  the  day  of  his  sacrifice,  was  to  have 
written  over  his  head  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin 
that  very  title  of  King  of  the  Jews , under  wThich  the 
Magi  speak  of  him  at  that  time. 

Let  us  contemplate  them  prostrating  themselves 
before  the  Infant  Jesus ; adoring  him,  in  union  with 
the  most  holy  Virgin  and  St.  Joseph ; offering  him  gold 
as  to  their  king,  incense  as  to  their  God,  myrrh  as  to 
their  Saviour. 

Oh  what  must  have  been  the  consolations  of  St. 
Joseph ! for  all  here  is  a subject  of  the  greatest  joy 
to  him — the  piety  of  the  Magi,  the  happiness  of  Mary, 
the  graces  which  Heaven  bestows  upon  himself,  and 
still  more  the  glory  which  is  procured  to  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Magi  are  to  Joseph  a subject  of  joy,  at  the  same 
time  that  their  offerings  are  to  him  a motive  for  grati- 
tude. What  a consoling  spectacle  for  him  to  see  the 


St.  Matt.  ii.  11. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


79 


faith  and  piety  of  those  kings  who,  forgetting  their 
pomp  and  greatness,  prostrate  themselves  in  all  humil- 
ity before  the  Infant  Jesus — before  this  King,  so  differ- 
ent from  others,  who  has  only  a stable  for  his  palace, 
and  poor  swaddling  clothes  for  his  raiment. 

St.  Joseph  rejoiced  on  the  occasion  of  the  adoration 
of  Jesus  by  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem.  Now  there 
are  here  the  same  motives,  and  even  greater ; for  the 
adoration  of  the  Magi,  who  have  come  so  far  and 
appear  to  have  left  so  much,  seems  to  testify  a more 
lively  faith,  a more  ardent  love,  and  a more  devoted 
zeal.  He  understands  that  their  presents  attract  to 
them  the  most  abundant  graces  of  Heaven.  He  sees 
Mary  thank  them  with  a look  full  of  sweetness.  He  is 
eager  to  testify  his  gratitude  to  them,  because,  coming 
to  the  aid  of  his  poverty,  they  furnish  him,  by  these 
gifts  of  their  piety,  with  the  means  of  procuring  for 
the  Infant  God  what  is  necessary  for  him. 

St.  Joseph  feels  great  joy  because  of  that  which 
Mary  experiences,  who  sees  the  Magi  adore  her  divine 
Son,  and  who  then  blesses  God  and  repeats  inwardly 
these  words  of  her  sacred  canticle  : My  soul  doth  mag- 
nify the  Lord , and  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my 
Saviour. 

He  unites  with  her  in  blessing  God,  who  heaps  his 
favors  upon  him.  He  thanks  him  for  the  prerogatives 
he  enjoys,  and  which  are  recalled  to  his  mind  by  the 
heavenly  favors  accorded  to  the  Magi.  God  spoke  to 
them  by  a star,  but  to  him,  by  an  angel.  He  whom 
they  have  come  so  far  to  see  once  and  adore,  is  his 
adopted  son,  with  whom  he  is  always — whom  his  eyes 
can  behold  every  instant,  whom  he  can  take  in  his 


80 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


arms  and  clasp  to  liis  bosom.  How  much  more  wor- 
thy of  envy  is  his  condition  than  that  of  these  happy 
strangers. 

But  that,  however,  is  not  the  principal  cause  of 
the  joy  that  fills  his  heart : that  cause  is  in  Jesus 
Christ — it  is  in  the  great  work  of  mercy  which  that 
divine  Saviour  begins  to  accomplish. 

Joseph  sees  in  the  Magi  the  whole  of  the  Gentiles 
called  to  the  faith.  He  blesses  the  divine  goodness 
which  wishes  that  salvation  should  be  offered  to  all 
men,  without  distinction  of  descent  or  nationality. 
What  a source  of  consolation  to  him  ! Jesus,  the  ado- 
rable Infant  who  is  the  object  of  his  care  and  love,  is 
known  and  glorified  by  the  Magi.  He  will  be  also  by 
those  to  whom  these  holy  persons  will  announce  him  ; 
then,  by  a great  number  from  all  countries,  and  finally, 
by  the  whole  world ! 

Joseph  sees  this  prophecy  of  Isaias  fulfilled : Arise, 
be  enlightened,  0 Jerusalem:  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee . For  behold  darkness 
shall  cover  the  earth , and  a mist  the  people  : but  the  Lord 
shall  arise  upon  thee,  and  his  glory  shall  be  seen  upon  thee . 
And  the  Gentiles  shall  walk  in  thy  light , and  kings  in  the 
brightness  of  thy  rising . Lift  up  thy  eyes  round  about  and 
see  : all  these  are  gathered  together , they  are  come  to  thee  : 
thy  sons  shall  come  from  afar , and  thy  daughters  shall  rise 
'up  at  thy  side . Then  shalt  thou  see  and  abound , and  thy 
heart  shall  wonder  and  be  enlarged , when  the  multitude  of 
the  sea  shall  be  converted  to  thee , the  strength  of  the  Gentiles 
shall  come  to  tliee* 


Isaias  lx.  1-6. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSETH. 


81 


APPLICATION. 

Let  us  congratulate  St.  Joseph  on  the  prerogatives 
with  which  Gocl  so  honored  him,  and  on  the  happiness 
he  experienced  on  occasion  of  the  adoration  of  the 
Magi.  Let  us  congratulate  him,  above  all,  on  his 
eminent  virtues,  by°which  he  made  himself  worthy  of 
the  favors  of  Heaven. 

The  Magi  offer  Jesus,  their  symbolical  gifts,  but  the 
reality  is  found  better  in  the  soul  of  Joseph  than  in 
their  souls,  although  so  pleasing  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord,  for  indeed,  after  Mary,  no  one  has  ever  had 
more  than  Joseph  of  the  pure  gold  of  charity,  the  sweet 
incense  of  prayer,  the  precious  myrrh  of  mortification. 
No  one  has  more  testified  by  his  love,  by  his  prayers, 
and  by  his  devotedness  that  he  recognized  Jesus  for 
his  King,  his  God,  his  Saviour. 

Like  Joseph,  let  us  give  ourselves  up  to  none  but 
pure  and  holy  joys.  Let  us  rejoice  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  faith,  in  the  good  that  is  wrought  either  by 
ourselves  or  others. 

Let  the  remembrance  of  the  joy  of  Joseph,  on  occa- 
sion of  the  adoration  of  the  Magi,  inspire  in  us  a great 
zeal  for  the  glory  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Let  us 
make  that  amiable  Redeemer  of  the  world  known  and 
loved.  Let  us  be  the  star  that  leads  faithful  adorers  to 
the  Infant  Jesus,  and  then  we  shall,  in  an  especial 
manner,  please  St.  Joseph  and  secure  his  protection, 
by  wrhich  we  shall  obtain  all  graces,  and  particularly 
final  perseverance. 


82 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PEAYEE. 

O Joseph,  who  hast  experienced  so  many  interior 
consolations  through  the  adoration  of  Jesus  by  the 
Magi ! obtain  for  us  that  we  may  be  animated  by  a 
great  zeal  for  the  glory  of  thy  adopted  Son,  so  that, 
bringing  adorers  to  him,  we  may  be  pleasing  to  thee  by 
our  conduct,  and  may  thus  secure  thy  protection,  by 
which  all  good  things  in  the  order  of  grace  will  come 
to  us. 

RESUME. 

Let  us  consider  the  Magi  answering  the  call  of  God, 
and  coming  to  adore  the  Infant  Jesus. 

Let  us  represent  to  ourselves  St.  Joseph  introducing 
them  to  the  divine  Infant  and  his  most  holy  Mother. . . . 

Let  us  observe  these  pious  strangers  adoring,  in  union 

with  Mary  and  Joseph,  the  new  King  of  the  Jews. 

offering  him  gold,  incense,  and  myrrh 

Let  us  think  on  the  interior  dispositions  of  St.  Joseph  : 
let  us  dwell  in  particular  on  the  joy  which  he  experiences, 
and  which  has  for  its  object  : 

Is*.  The  faith  and  piety  of  the  Magi. ...  2d.  The  joy 

that  fills  the  heart  of  the  most  holy  Virgin 3 d.  The 

graces  which  Heaven  has  bestowed  on  himself,  and  which 
are  more  precious  than  those  with  which  the  Magi  were 

favored 4 th.  The  glory  procured  to  Jesus  Christ, 

whose  kingdom  is  established  in  this  world. 

Joseph  sees  in  the  Magi  the  first  fruits  of  the  Gentiles  ; 
he  sees  all  nations  being  converted  to  the  Lord,  and  receiv- 
ing the  salvation  which  Jesus  comes  to  bring  upon  earth. 

Fruits. — To  take  part  in  the  joy  of  St.  Joseph  ; like  him,  to  rejoice 
only  in  the  establishment  and  strengthening  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ. 


TWELFTH  MEDITATION. 


JESUS  IS  PRESENTED  IN  THE  TEMPLE. 


“ They  carried  him  to  Jerusalem,  to  present  him  to  the  Lord.” 

St.  Luke  ii.  22. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  consider  tlie  interior  dispositions  of  St. 
Joseph  in  the  presentation  of  the  Child  Jesus  in  the 
Temple.  They  will  afford  us  most  useful  instruction, 
because  they  will  make  us  appreciate  still  more  the 
effects  of  grace  in  our  glorious  patron,  and  will  teach 
us  what  we  should  do  to  be  his  true  imitators. 

Let  us  remark,  first  of  all,  the  exact  obedience  of  St. 
Joseph ; for  he  proves  himself  a zealous  observer  of 
the  law,  although  he  knew  that  it  did  not  oblige  him  to 
present  the  supreme  Lawgiver  himself  in  the  Temple. 
He  can  say  to  the  Jews : “ There  is  some  one  here 
greater  than  the  Temple,  and  superior  to  the  law and 
yet  he  thinks  only  of  doing  in  regard  to  Jesus,  what  the 
law  prescribes  for  other  infants.  Therefore,  the  Gos- 
pel makes  us  remark  this  obedience  of  Joseph  and 
Mary,  by  observing  four  times  in  the  same  chapter 
that  they  acted  conformably  to  the  law  of  the  Lord. 

Let  us  remark,  secondly,  the  great  piety  of  St. 
Joseph.  It  is  in  this  respect,  above  all,  that  we 
should  consider  him  to-day.  The  time  has  come  to 


84 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


carry  the  Infant  Jesus  to  Jerusalem,  to  present  him  to 
God  the  Father.  What  passes,  then,  in  the  soul  of  St. 
Joseph  at  the  thought  of  the  great  act  of  religion  he  is 
about  to  perform  ? 

He  is  about  to  present  the  Infant  to  the  Lord ! But 
that  Child  is  the  Son  of  God.  The  offering  he  is  about 
to  make  of  him  will  then  be  worthy  of  the  Lord.  There 
will  be  a pure  oblation  at  Jerusalem — a holocaust  that 
will  satisfy  the  Most  High,  and  render  him  infinite 
homage. 

Joseph  is  going  to  present  the  Child  to  the  Lord! 
But  that  Child  is  the  Victim  of  our  reconciliation,  the 
Lamb  offered  up  from  the  beginning  of  the  world. 
With  what  holy  joy  is  Joseph  then  about  to  offer  him. 
Does  he  not  already  see  the  effects  of  the  divine  mercy 
spread  over  the  world,  pardon  come  down  from 
heaven,  and  sinful  humanity  find  grace  before  the  God 
whom  it  had  offended  ? 

Joseph  is  about  to  present  the  Child  to  the  Lord! 
But  that  Child  is  the  Mediator  by  whom  earth  returns 
thanks  to  Heaven,  and  begs  of  God  the  gifts  of  his 
providence.  With  what  sentiments  is  not  his  soul 
penetrated  at  that  moment,  when  he  considers  that 
through  Jesus  thanks  worthy  of  the  infinite  goodness 
of  the  Lord  are  about  to  rise  to  his  throne,  and  with 
them  an  all-powerful  prayer  that  will  cause  the  most 
abundant  and  most  precious  graces  to  ram  down 
upon  men ! 

Joseph  understands  all  the  excellence  of  the  offering 
that  Jesus  is  about  to  make  of  himself  to  his  heavenly 
Father,  and  he  unites  himself  with  the  adorable 
Victim.  He  directs  his  steps  towards  Jerusalem,  iden- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


85 


tifying  himself  as  much  as  he  can  with  the  divine  Infant 
that  he  carries  in  his  arms.  He  says  to  him,  “ Yes  I 
wish,  O my  divine  Saviour ! as  does  your  most  holy 
Mother,  to  make  but  one  with  you ; offer  up  likewise 
with  your  own  divine  Person  all  those  whom  you  call 
to  the  knowledge  of  your  holy  name  ; offer  up  all  man- 
kind, for  you  are  he  through  whom  alone  men  can  find 
grace  before  God.” 

St.  Joseph,  uniting  himself  to  Jesus,  enters  into  con- 
formity of  dispositions  with  the  divine  Victim.  His 
soul  is  penetrated  with  sentiments  of  the  most  respect- 
ful adoration  towards  God;  the  most  lively  gratitude 
for  his  numberless  favors,  the  most  profound  grief  for 
the  offence  sin  has  inflicted  on  his  divine  Majesty,  and 
the  greatest  fervor  in  soliciting  his  graces. 

But  these  dispositions  are  still  more  perfect  in  him 
during  the  ceremony  of  presentation.  Who  wrill  tell 
us  the  fervor  and  joy  of  his  soul  at  that  moment  wdien 
he  sees  the  prophecy  fulfilled  that  foretold  that  the 
Temple  built  on  the  return  from  captivity  would 
surpass  in  glory  that  of  Solomon,*  wdien  these  words 
of  Malachias  should  be  realized.  “ Behold  I send  my 
Angel , and  lie  shall  prepare  the  way  from  before  my  face . 
And  presently  the  Lord  whom  you  seek , and  the  Angel 
of  the  testament  whom  you  desire , shall  come  to  his 
temple.  + 

It  was,  then,  a subject  of  ineffable  joy  to  St.  Joseph, 
wThich  was  still  more  increased  by  the  glory  which  the 
aged  Simeon  and  the  prophetess  Anna  pay  to  Jesus. 
Nothing,  in  truth,  caused  him  more  consolation  than 
to  see  Jesus  known  and  glorified;  how  much,  then, 

* Aggeus  ii.  10.  t Malac.  iii.  1. 


86 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


must  he  have  experienced  when  he  saw  the  holy  aged 
Simeon  take  the  divine  Child  in  his  arms,  and  bless 
God  while  saying : Now  thou  dost  dismiss  thy  servant , 
0 Lord , according  to  thy  word , in  peace;  because  my  eyes 
have  seen  thy  salvation , which  thou  hast  prepared  before 
the  face  of  all  people : a light  to  the  revelation  of  the  gen- 
tiles, and  the  glory  of  thy  people  of  Israel .*  What  senti- 
ments must  have  crowded  in  his  heart  when  he  heard 
Simeon  bless  him,  and  the  most  holy  Virgin,  and  con- 
gratulate him  on  having  been  chosen  to  live  in  the 
adorable  company  of  Him  whose  company  he  had  so 
much  desired;  or  when  he  witnessed  the  coming  of 
the  prophetess  Anna  to  the  Temple,  who  spoke  of  the 
Infant  God  to  all  that  looked  for  the  redemption  of  Israel! 

God  the  Father  glorified  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  he 
glorified  by  Simeon  and  Anna,  and  in  their  person 
by  all  the  people  of  Israel.  Behold  what,  above 
all,  filled  the  heart  of  St.  Joseph  with  delight  ! 
Well  might  he  exclaim,  and  with  more  reason  than 
holy  Simeon : Now  thou  dost  dismiss  thy  servant , 0 
Lord ...  .in  peace.  But  no,  such  is  not  his  language. 
He  thinks  in  his  joy,  that  he  has  a great  mission  to 
fulfil,  and  the  sentiment  that  predominates  above  all 
others  in  him  is  that  of  perfect  conformity  to  the  de- 
signs of  Providence.  Uniting  himself  anew  to  the 
adorable  Victim,  he  offers  himself  to  God  to  fulfil  all 
the  duties  of  the  great  charge  entrusted  to  him. 

APPLICATION. 

What  useful  instructions  the  subject  we  are  medi- 
tating on  offers  us ! 


St.  Luke  ii.  29-32. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


87 


We  assist  every  day  at  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  at 
the  offering  which  our  adorable  Saviour  makes  of  him- 
self to  God.  But  do  we  assist  thereat  with  the  interior 
dispositions  we  have  remarked  in  St.  Joseph  when  of- 
fering Jesus  to  his  heavenly  Father?  Are  we  then 
penetrated  with  sentiments  of  adoration,  gratitude,  re- 
pentance, and  fervor  ? Are  we  doing  all  that  is  pos- 
sible for  us  to  excite  them  in  our  souls  ? Do  we  unite 
ourselves  to  the  great  Victim  in  offering  ourselves  to 
God,  with  all  that  belongs  to  us  ? Oh  how  profitable 
our  assistance  at  the  holy  sacrifice  will  then  be,  and 
what  interior  consolations  God  will  make  us  then 
enjoy ! 

In  imitation  of  St.  Joseph,  let  us  make  all  our  joy 
to  consist  in  what  glorifies  Jesus  Christ.  * Let  us  thank 
Heaven  when  we  see  that  adorable  Saviour  known 
and  loved  by  men.  Let  us  take  part  in  an  especial 
manner  in  what  is  done  for  that  end  in  our  Institute. 
Let  us  consider  the  good  that  is  done  there,  and  let 
that  be  a motive  to  make  us  rejoice  in  God.  Let  us 
take  pleasure  in  this  thought,  that  our  Brothers,  ful- 
filling the  same  mission  as  the  aged  Simeon  and  Anna, 
speak  of  the  Infant  God  to  a great  number  of  Chris- 
tian youths,  whom  they  thus  train  to  adore,  love,  and 
serve  him. 

Let  us  excite  in  our  hearts  the  sentiments  of  piety 
and  gratitude  we  have  considered  in  St.  Joseph;  let  us 
testify  by  our  conduct  that  they  are  the  moving  spring 
of  our  actions.  Then  we  too  shall  merit,  in  company 
with  St.  Joseph  and  the  aged  Simeon,  to  see  Him  who 
is  the  true  Light,  and  the  sight  of  whom  makes  the 
supreme  happiness  of  the  elect. 


88 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PEAYEE. 

I beseech  you,  O Jesus,  adorable  Yictim  of  my  sal- 
vation ! to  make  me  partaker  of  the  interior  disposi- 
tions of  St.  Joseph,  who  was  always  so  pure  and  pleas- 
ing in  your  eyes.  Grant  that  my  heart  may  be  in- 
flamed like  his  with  the  fire  of  your  divine  charity, 
so  that  I may  merit  to  be  presented  by  Mary  and  him 
in  the  holy  temple  of  your  glory. 

RESUME. 

Let  us  consider  the  virtues  and  interior  dispositions  of 
St.  Joseph  in  the  presentation  of  the  Child  Jesus  in  the 
Temple 

Let  us  remark  in  him,  first,  his  obedience  to  the  law  of 
the  Lord 

Let  us  remark  in  him,  next,  his  union  of  sentiments 
with  the  adorable  Yictim  he  offers  to  God 

Joseph  considers  Jesus  as  the  true  adorer  of  the  eternal 
Father ....  as  rendering  to  his  infinite  goodness  a worthy 
homage  of  gratitude ....  as  expiating  the  sins  of  all  man- 
kind. . . .as  praying  for  men,  and  deserving  to  be  heard  in 
-all  his  prayers .... 

Joseph  unites  himself  to  Jesus,  and  excites  in  his  heart 
the  same  sentiments  as  those  which  are  in  the  heart  of 
the  divine  Infant .... 

Let  us  contemplate  Joseph  carrying  the  Infant  Jesus, 
and  entering  with  Mary  into  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem. 
What  joy  he  experiences  at  that  moment  when  the  Son  of 
God  comes  to  honor  that  holy  structure,  and  to  make  it 
more  glorious  than  was  the  Temple  of  Solomon ! when 
the  great  Yictim,  prefigured  by  all  the  victims  of  the  old 
law,  offers  himself  to  the  Most  High  God  f. . . . 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


89 


Let  us  consider  how  his  joy  is  increased  through  the 
glory  rendered  to  Jesus  by  the  aged  Simeon  and  the 
prophetess  Anna. 

Fruits. — To  be  filled,  when  assisting  at  the  holy  sacrifice,  by  senti- 
ments of  adoration,  gratitude,  repentance  and  piety;  to  rejoice  in  the 
good  done  in  the  Church. 


THIRTEENTH  MEDITATION. 


ST.  JOSEPH  IS  ORDERED  TO  GO  INTO  EGYPT. 


“ An  Angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  in  sleep  to  Joseph,  saying  : Arise,  and 
take  the  child  and  his  mother,  and  fly  into  Egypt ; and  he  there  until 
I shall  tell  thee.  For  it  will  come  to  pass  that  Herod  will  seek  the 
child,  to  destroy  kirn.” — Matt.  ii.  13.  . 


CONSIDERATION. 

Of  all  tlie  actions  that  the  life  of  St.  Joseph  pre- 
sents to  onr  consideration,  this  is  the  one  in  which 
that  obedience  which  was,  as  it  were,  the  very  founda- 
tion of  his  soul  is  most  visible.  Let  us,  then,  in  the 
course  of  this  meditation,  place  ourselves  chiefly  at 
that  point  of  view,  and  consider  that  God  greatly 
honors  St.  Joseph  by  the  orders  he  transmits  to  him  ; 
and  that  St.  Joseph  worthily  glorifies  God  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  executes  them. 

The  command  which  St.  Joseph  received  is  highly 
honorable  to  him  under  all  respects,  and,  in  the  first 
place,  because  of  its  origin,  for  it  is  an  angel  who  gives 
it  to  him  on  the  part  of  God  himself.  Who  would  not 
think  it  an  honor  to  be  thus  in  immediate  relation  with 
a prince  of  the  heavenly  court,  and  to  receive,  in  so 
simple  a manner,  an  intimation  of  the  will  of  the  Most 
High? 

That  order  is  equally  honorable  to  Joseph  because 
of  its  object : Arise , said  the  angel  to  him,  and  take  the 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


91 


child  and  his  mother , and  fly  into  Egypt.  But  what  do 
those  words  mean  but  this : a The  Lord  your  God 
entrusts  to  you,  O Joseph,  all  that  he  holds  most  dear : 
his  adorable  Son,  and  the  Virgin,  his  most  holy 
Mother.  He  has  chosen  you  to  represent  him,  to  per- 
sonify his  providence  in  regard  to  both.  A danger 
threatens  the  Child,  and  it  is  to  your  devotedness  and 
prudence  the  Most  High  has  counted  to  entrust  him ; 
it  is  to  you  he  trusts  to.  preserve  the  life  of  the  divine 
Saviour,  and  defeat  the  projects  of  hell.”  What  a 
mark  of  confidence  God  has  thus  given  to  St.  Joseph, 
and  what  can  be  conceived  more  glorious  to  him ! 

That  command  is  honorable  to  Joseph  because  of 
the  authority  it  recognizes  in  him  over  Mary  and 
Jesus ; for  it  establishes  him  head  of  the  Holy  Family, 
and  thus  presents  him  to  us  as  the  man  most  worthy 
of  respect  that  ever  was  or  will  be. 

That  command  is  also  honorable  to  him  because  of 
the  difficulties  its  execution  presents.  It  is  question  of 
a dangerous  and  painful  journey,  and  for  which  Joseph 
appears  to  have  had  no  resources  at  his  disposal.  Nev- 
ertheless the  order  is  given  to  him.  In  this  there  is  true 
homage  paid  to  his  virtue.  Heroism  is  commanded 
only  to  great  souls.  It  is  from  those  who  have  gener- 
ous hearts  that  the  Lord  asks  great  sacrifices.  The 
more  contrary  to  nature  is  the  order  given,  the  more 
does  he  testify  his  esteem  for  them  by  giving  it. 
Viewed  in  this  respect,  it  is  evident  that  God  greatly 
honored  St.  Joseph,  and  that  by  intimating  to  him  in 
such  simple  terms,  Take  the  child  and  his  mother , and  fly 
into  Egypt , he  showed  that  he  recognized  him  as  a 
man  in  whom  he  placed  confidence,  whose  will  was 


92 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


perfectly  conformable  to  bis  own,  and  to  whom  it 
was  sufficient  to  reveal  his  adorable  designs  to  secure 
on  his  part  the  devotion  of  his  whole  soul  to  their 
accomplishment. 

But  if  God  honors  his  friends  by  ordering  them  to 
do  things  difficult  of  accomplishment,  the  friends  of  God 
give  him  glory,  in  their  turn,  by  accomplishing  them 
with  all  the  perfection  possible  for  them. 

That  is,  in  truth,  what  we  remark  in  St.  Joseph. 
He  has  therefore  testified  by  this  that  he  was  the  true 
servant  of  the  Most  High,  worthy  of  the  affection  of 
the  Lord.  God  says  to  him  in  effect  what  Jesus 
Christ  was  to  say  on  the  night  before  his  death : “ If 
you  love  me,  do  what  I command  you and  St.  Joseph 
answers  him  : “ I am  happy  to  do  what  you  command 
me,  because  I have  an  extreme  desire  of  testifying  to 
you  that  I love  you.” 

Let  us  admire  these  interior  dispositions  of  St. 
Joseph,  and  remark  the  character  of  the  act  by  which 
they  are  made  manifest.  Let  us  consider  how  that 
great  servant  of  God  practices  obedience,  which,  of  all 
virtues,  seems  the  one  most  calculated  to  glorify  the 
sovereign  Master. 

St.  Joseph  obeys,  first,  from  faith,  and  from  a 
motive  of  religion.  He  proposes  to  himself  only  to  do 
the  will  of  God,  who  has  spoken  to  him  by  his  heavenly 
messenger ; and,  in  humility  of  heart,  he  adores  the 
designs  of  providence. 

St.  Joseph  obeys,  secondly,  with  simplicity.  He  was 
told  to  go  to  Egypt  with  the  Child  Jesus  and  his  most 
holy  Mother.  This  was  a very  great  trial.  How  many 
observations  might  he  not  have  offered ! The  length 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSETH. 


93 


and  difficulties  of  the  road,  the  weakness  of  the  most 
holy  Virgin,  and  still  more  of  the  Child.  The  want  of 
means  and  of  protection.  The  ease  with  which  Provi- 
dence could  disconcert  the  designs  of  Herod  in  any 

other  way But  Joseph  suffers  himself  to  make  no 

observation  ; he  takes  care  not  to  allow  his  thoughts 
to  dwell  on  any  objection  showing  either  that  he  does 
not  recognize  God  as  the  author  of  the  command,  or 
that  could  seem  to  accuse  him  of  being  wanting  in  wis- 
dom. Humble  and  diffident  of  his  own  knowledge,  he 
knows  only  how  to  obey.  He  does  not  even  inquire  as 
to  the  time  of  his  return  to  his  own  country.  He  has 
but  one  thought — how  to  fulfil  the  orders  given  him 
without  any  delay. 

St.  Joseph  obeys,  thirdly,  with  promptitude.  It  is 
question  of  a great  enterprise,  of  a distant  journey,  and 
a long  sojourn  in  a foreign  country.  Preparations,  there- 
fore, appeared  to  be  necessary,  and  seemed  to  authorize 
a delay  in  the  execution  of  the  order  given.  But  that 
faithful  servant  of  God  is  not  instigated  by  human 
prudence  to  act  contrary  to  the  designs  of  his  sover- 
eign Master.  The  angel  had  said  to  him,  Arise ; he 
had  shown  him  that  it  was  necessary  to  do  at  once 
what  was  ordered,  and  he  obeyed  on  the  instant. 

St.  Joseph  obeyed,  fourthly,  with  the  most  perfect 
interior  dispositions,  and,  among  others,  with  fervor 
and  generosity,  and  an  unlimited  confidence  in  Provi- 
dence— a confidence  which  is  a true  act  of  adoration,  a 
perfect  homage  rendered  to  the  divine  goodness. 

Persuaded  that  all  ends  in  the  greatest  advantage  to 
those  who  love  God  and  serve  him  faithfully,  St. 
Joseph  abandons  himself  to  the  guidance  of  that  good 


94 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Master.  He  hopes,  not  only  that  he  will  never  aban- 
don him,  but  that  he  will  assist  him  the  more,  that 
he  is  deprived  of  all  human  succor. 

APPLICATION. 

What  practical  consequences  naturally  follow  from 
the  subject  on  which  we  are  meditating.  They  might 
form  a complete  code  of  religious  perfection.  Put  let 
us  limit  ourselves  to  the  most  important. 

In  imitation  of  the  saints,  and  of  St.  Joseph  in  par- 
ticular, let  us  consider  it  an  honor  to  be  tried  by  God. 
Let  us  look  upon  it  as  a mark  of  confidence  when  we 
are  commanded  anything  difficult  and  painful  to  na- 
ture. Let  us  remember  that  the  exercise  of  obedience 
is  commanded  only  of  such  souls  as  wish  to  belong 
wholly  to  God,  and  that  it  is  to  them  a source  of  the 
greatest  merits. 

Let  us  glorify  God,  and  honor  our  state  by  perfect 
obedience ; let  us  act  in  such  a way  that  this  virtue 
may  be  in  us  as  in  St.  Joseph — Christian  and  religious, 
simple,  prompt,  and  entire. 

Let  us  leave  ourselves,  with  the  greatest  confidence, 
in  the  hands  of  divine  Providence.  Let  us  think  only 
of  doing  the  work  of  God,  and  let  us  be  assured  that 
God  will  do  our  work.  Let  us  devote  ourselves  to  his 
glory,  and  cast  all  our  iniquities  into  the  bosom  of  his 
infinite  goodness. 

Let  us  be  vigilant  and  full  of  zeal  in  the  exercise  of 
our  employment.  The  subject  on  which  we  meditate 
offers  us  an  entirely  special  motive  for  this.  Is  it  not 
to  us,  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  that  it  is  said  : 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


95 


“ Arise,  take  the  Child  and  his  Mother,  and  save  him 
from  the  fury  of  Herod  ? ” Our  pupils  run  great  dan- 
gers, and,  to  avert  them,  they  have  only,  for  the  most 
part,  the  care  we  bring  to  the  irreligious  education. 
Ah  ! must  we,  at  thought  of  this,  not  feel  inflamed 
with  the  most  ardent  zeal  ? 

Let  us,  in  all  circumstances,  walk  in  the  footsteps  of 
St.  Joseph.  Let  us  be  a subject  of  joy  to  him,  by  the 
imitation  of  his  virtues.  By  this  means  we  shall  secure 
his  all-powerful  protection,  and  through  it,  success  with 
our  pupils^  and  still  more  our  own  success  in  the  great 
work  of  our  sanctification. 

PRAYER. 

O Joseph ! when  shall  I merit,  by  the  imitation  of 
your  virtues,  to  be  counted  in  the  number  of  the  true 
servants  of  God  ? Obtain  for  me,  I beseech  you,  the 
singular  favor  of  being,  like  you,  perfectly  submissive 
to  God  and  full  of  confidence  in  his  goodness,  so  that 
I may  make  myself  worthy  to  share  your  glory,  and 
that  of  the  most  holy  Virgin,  with  whom  you  devoted 
yourself,  without  reserve,  to  that  care  which  the  di- 
vine Infancy  of  my  adorable  Saviour  required. 

R&SUM&. 

Let  us  recall  to  mind  the  order  given  to  St.  Joseph  by 
an  angel,  who  said  to  him,  during  his  sleep.  Arise , and 
take  the  child  and  his  mother , and  fly  into  Egypt. 

Let  us  consider  how  honorable  that  command  is  for 
St.  Joseph.  It  is  a heavenly  spirit  that  transmits  it  to 
him  ; . . . .it has  reference  to  Jesus  and  Mary  ; ...  .its  object 


96 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


is  to  save  the  Infant  God  from  the  fury  of  Herod  ; it 

presents  difficulties,  but  that  proves  the  esteem  God  had 
for  the  virtue  of  his  servant. 

Let  us  consider,  finally,  how  Joseph  glorifies  God,  whom 
he  obeys  : 1$£,  from  motives  of  faith  and  religion  ; 2 dly, 
with  simplicity  ; 3 dly,  with  promptitude  ; 4 thly,  with  con- 
fidence in  his  goodness. 

He  does  not  give  way  to  anxiety  ; he  thinks  only  of 
doing  the  work  of  God,  in  whose  bosom  he  casts  all  his 
solicitude 

Let  us  often  think  of  the  obedience  of  St.  Joseph,  and 
his  confidence  in  God,  and  let  us  endeavor  to  imitate 
them. 

Fruits. — To  esteem  the  exercise  of  obedience ; to  be  zealous  for  the 
salvation  of  our  pupils. 


FOURTEENTH  MEDITATION. 


THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT. 


“ I will  conduct  him  thither,  and  bring  him  hack  to  thee.” 

— Tobias  v.  15. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  consider  the  conduct  of  St.  Joseph  while 
fulfilling  the  order  given  him  to  fly  into  Egypt.  "We 
shall  find  there  occasion  to  admire  and  glorify  that 
great  servant  of  God,  and  much  to  edify  us  at  the  sight 
of  his  virtues. 

"We  have  already  remarked  with  what  holy  disposi- 
tions he  received  that  order ; how  he  accepted  it  with 
faith  and  simplicity,  and  set  immediately  about  execut- 
ing it ; we  have  comprehended  what  glory  he  rendered 
to  God  by  an  obedience  so  holy  and  so  exact.  Now, 
these  dispositions  were  found  in  him  not  only  at  the 
time  when  the  order  was  given,  but  during  all  the 
time  needed  to  execute  it.  At  each  instant  of  the 
flight  from  Judea  to  Egypt,  St.  Joseph  glorified  God 
by  his  obedience  in  as  perfect  manner  as  is  implied  by 
these  words  of  the  holy  Gospel : Who,  rising  up , took 
the  child  and  his  mother  by  night , and  retired  into 
Egypt* 

St.  Joseph,  during  his  journey  into  Egypt,  glorifies 
God  by  the  practice  of  many  virtues  no  less  sublime 

•St.  Matt.  ii.  14. 

5 


98 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


than  obedience,  and  especially,  first,  by  his  devoted- 
ness ; secondly,  by  his  courage  and  resignation ; third- 
ly, by  his  spirit  of  faith  and  charity. 

St.  Joseph  gives  proof  of  a devotedness  without 
limit.  Let  us  admire  in  what  sentiments  he  accepts 
the  mission  entrusted  to  him.  Yes,  he  says  to  God, 
“ I receive  with  joy  the  order  you  give  me.  Your  prov- 
idence has  counted  on  my  fidelity ; I hope,  by  your 
grace,  not  to  fail  in  what  your  providence  requires  of 
me.  Behold  me : I will  conduct  your  adorable  Son  as 
the  angel  Raphael  conducted  the  young  Tobias ; I 
will  not  spare  myself,  considering  it  always  my  great- 
est happiness  to  sacrifice  myself  for  Jesus.” 

In  these  dispositions,  Joseph  bade  adieu  to  his 
country,  and  choosing  to  be  like  Jesus  Christ,  begins 
his  journey  to  a foreign  country.  Let  us  not  suppose 
that  it  did  not  cost  his  heart  much  thus  to  leave  Judea. 
Like  all  true  Israelites,  he  had  the  greatest  love  for 
the  land  of  promise,  for  Jerusalem,  the  holy  city  where 
was  found  the  only  temple  in  the  universe  raised  to 
the  honor  of  the  true  God.  No  doubt  he  shed  tears 
at  quitting  the  land  of  his  ancestors ; yet  he  overcame 
his  natural  sentiments,  and  in  the  depth  of  his  heart 
considered  himself  happy  at  thus  showing  his  perfect 
devotedness  to  the  work  of  salvation  entrusted  to 
him. 

St.  Joseph  also  shows  his  devotedness  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  his  position  in  Judea.  It  is  true,  he  had  little  ; 
but  that  little  was  much  to  him,  because  it  was  the 
only  thing  that  assured  him  the  means  of  subsistence. 
Now,  he  generously  abandons  all,  and  excepting,  per- 
haps, the  tools  of  his  business,  he  abandons  every- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


99 


thing  to  follow  Jesus — thus  making  in  advance  the  sac- 
rifice afterwards  made  by  the  Apostles,  and  for  a mis- 
sion not  less  difficult  than  theirs. 

Ah ! who  can  say  how  much  Joseph  had  to  suffer 
in  going  from  Judea  into  Egypt ! He  was  poor,  and 
had  need  to  find  a shelter  for  every  night,  and  already 
he  had  experienced  in  Bethlehem  that  inns  had  no 
hospitality  for  poverty,  although  he  was  then  in  his 
own  country. 

He  was  poor,  and  he  had  a family  to  support.  Ah  ! 
how  could  he  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  Infant  J esus 
and  his  most  holy  Mother?  How  could  he  procure 
and  bring  them  sufficient  provisions  ? Alas ! how 
many  times  all  three  suffered  hunger  and  thirst ! 
How  many  times  they  found  themselves  exhausted  by 
fatigue,  without  having  the  means  to  recruit  their 
strength ! 

Yes,  St.  Joseph  had  much  to  suffer  because  of  his 
poverty.  He  had  no  less  to  suffer  because  of  the 
natural  difficulties  of  the  road  he  had  to  travel.  In 
Judea  he  was  forced  to  avoid  the  frequented  roads,  so 
as  to  escape  discovery  by  some  of  the  emissaries  of 
Herod ; on  leaving  Judea,  he  enters  upon  the  deserts. 
Imagination  is  terrified  at  the  idea  of  a journey  in  the 
deserts,  made  by  a single  man  accompanied  by  a Vir- 
gin, and  bearing,  in  turns  with  her,  the  Infant  en- 
trusted to  their  care. 

St.  Joseph  had  to  suffer  not  only  the  privations, 
fatigues,  and  dangers  personal  to  himself,  but  also  all 
the  sufferings  endured  by  the  Infant  Jesus  and  the 
most  holy  Virgin.  As  head  of  the  Holy  Family,  he 
had  to  suffer  every  kind  of  uneasiness.  Therefore,  he 


100 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


liad  need  of  great  courage,  of  superhuman  strength  of 
soul,  of  heroic  patience,  of  perfect  resignation  to  the 
designs  of  Providence,  which  wished  that  the  Son  of 
God  himself  should  be  a prey  to  sufferings  as  the  Vic- 
tim of  expiation  for  the  sins  of  men. 

Let  us  admire  that  sublime  resignation  of  St. 
Joseph.  Let  us  often  recall  to  mind  that  he  never 
suffered  a murmur  to  pass  his  lips,  nor  even  a com- 
plaint. That  he  was  content  with  raising  his  eyes  with 
faith  towards  Heaven,  which  had  judged  him  strong 
enough  for  such  trials. 

But  St.  Joseph,  the  model  of  devotedness,  courage, 
and  resignation,  is  to  us  a model  also  of  faith  and 
charity. 

He  looks  at  everything  from  a religious  point  of 
view.  Thus  he  thinks,  while  travelling  towards  Egypt, 
that  he  is  following  the  route  traversed  by  Abraham, 
and  later  on  by  the  sons  of  Jacob.  He  remembers  that 
they  were,  from  a human  point  of  view,  in  a far  less 
painful  position  than  he.  Nevertheless,  he  hopes  to 
arrive,  like  them,  at  the  end  of  his  journey,  by  the  pro- 
tection of  divine  Providence. 

Joseph  finds  in  his  love  for  Jesus  a source  of 
strength,  courage,  even  joy,  in  the  midst  of  his  tribu- 
lations. Ah ! who  will  give  us  to  understand  what 
passed  in  his  heart,  when,  during  the  journey,  he  was 
alone  with  Jesus  and  Mary  ? His  affection,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  most  holy  Virgin,  has  but  one  object, 
Jesus,  for  whom  it  is  a happiness  to  make  every 
sacrifice.  Now  he  carries  him  in  his  arms ; his  soul 
is  then  under  the  influence  of  the  strongest  love — 
a love  which  increases  the  strength  a hundred  fold, 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


101 


allows  nothing  to  seem  painful,  and  even  goes  so  far 
as  to  make  us  look  on  the  most  costly  sacrifices  as  oc- 
casions to  be  desired.  Mary,  in  her  turn,  carries  the 
Infant  Jesus,  and  has  for  him,  in  her  virginal  and 
maternal  heart,  all  the  fire  of  the  most  lively  affection; 
but  the  heart  of  Joseph  makes  one  only  with  that  of 
his  most  holy  spouse.  Therefore,  he  is  constantly 
under  the  influence  of  his  love  for  Jesus — that  is  to 
say,  of  the  most  holy,  most  noble,  and  most  religious 
sentiment.  It  is  then  true  that  he  worthily  glorified 
God  during  his  flight  into  Egypt,  and  that  he  deserves 
to  be  proposed  to  the  admiration  and  imitation  of  all 
Christians. 


APPLICATION. 

In  imitation  of  St.  Joseph,  let  us  devote  ourselves 
generously  to  the  work  which  Providence  has  entrust- 
ed to  us.  Let  us  save  our  pupils  from  the  dangers 
that  threaten  us.  Let  us  spare  nothing  to  attain  that 
end — the  most  noble  that  our  charity  can  conceive. 
We  have  charge  of  each  one  of  these  children.  Let  us 
remember  the  engagement  we  have  contracted  on  that 
subject  by  corresponding  to  our  vocation,  anddet  us 
fulfil  it  with  an  indefatigable  zeal. 

Let  us  think  that  there  is  nothing  wearisome  to  him 
that  loves  ; let  us,  then,  draw  strength  from  our  love 
for  Jesus,  and  our  union  with  that  adorable  Saviour. 

Let  us  support  with  courage  the  trials  to  which  we 
are  subject.  What  are  they  but  precious  occasions  for 
manifesting  our  love  for  our  divine  Master.  Let  us 
accept  them  with  joy,  or,  at  least,  with  patience. 
Let  us  remember  that  if  in  adversity  we  imitate  St. 


102 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Joseph,  the  number  and  greatness  of  our  sufferings 
will  determine  the  number  and  excellence  of  our 
merits. 

Let  us  incline  our  pupils  to  love  patience  and  resig- 
nation. They  have  to  traverse  the  desert  of  this  life, 
where  so  many  difficulties  are  encountered.  Let  us 
train  them  to  be  imitators  of  St.  Joseph — that  is  to 
say,  to  suffer  everything  with  devotedness  and  courage, 
in  a spirit  of  faith  and  love  towards  Jesus  Christ  and 
his  most  holy  Mother. 

PEAYEE. 

Pray  for  me,  O glorious  St.  Joseph,  that  I may  imi- 
tate your  virtues,  and  especially  those  that  I have 
meditated  on.  Obtain  for  me  that  I may  be  perfect  in 
my  obedience,  a zealous  servant  of  God,  a religious 
filled  with  the  spirit  of  faith,  and  wholly  penetrated 
with  divine  love.  I ask  it  of  you  by  your  desire  that 
Jesus  may  be  known,  loved,  and  served  by  man  on 
earth,  and  afterwards  glorified  by  them  in  heaven. 

R&STJM&. 

Let  us  consider  what  virtues  appear  most  in  St.  Joseph 
in  the  flight  into  Egypt.  We  shall  have  reason  to  honor 
him,  and  to  instruct  ourselves  in  what  we  ought  to  do  to 
be  his  worthy  imitators. . . . 

Joseph  acted  in  a spirit  of  perfect  obedience,  remain- 
ing always  submissive  to  the  divine  will,  and  fulfilling  it 
from  the  purest  motives 

Joseph  exhibited  a devotedness  carried  even  to  the 
most  heroic  sacrifices.  Thus,  to  obey  the  order  of  God, 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


103 


he  generously,  abandons  his  country,  his  relations,  all  that 
he  possessed 

Joseph  gave  proof  of  great  courage  and  perfect  re- 
signation. . . . 

Joseph  acted  through  the  whole  journey  in  a spirit  of 
faith  and  charity,  employing  his  mind  only  on  the  great 
thoughts  of  religion,  and  kindling  in  his  heart  sentiments 
of  the  most  ardent  love  for  Jesus. 

Fruits. — To  be  patient  in  trials  ; to  train  our  pupils  to  resignation 
in  the  sufferings  of  this  life. 


FIFTEENTH  MEDITATION. 


SOJOURN  OF  THE  HOLY  FAMILY  IN  EGYPT. 


“F]y  into  Egypt,  and  be  there  until  I shall  tell  thee.” — Matt.  ii.  13. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  contemplate,  in  union  with  the  heavenly 
spirits,  the  Holy  Family  during  its  sojourn  in  Egypt. 
Let  us  consider  how  St.  Joseph  endures,  in  a spirit 
of  faith,  the  hardships  of  exile.  How  he  labors  with 
courage  for  Jesus  and  Mary,  for  whom  he  procures 
all  the  consolation  in  his  power.  How  he  prays  for  the 
unfortunate  people  who  are  plunged  in  idolatry,  and 
concurs,  moreover,  by  the  example  of  his  virtues,  in 
the  work  of  their  conversion. 

However  lively  was  St.  Joseph’s  faith,  however 
perfect  his  obedience,  he  must  necessarily  have  felt 
most  keenly  the  grief  of  exile  during  the  long  years 
that  he  passed  in  Egypt,  and  experienced  the  senti- 
ments of  sadness  that  the  Royal  Prophet  has  expressed 
in  these  words.  Upon  the  rivers  of  Babylon , there  ice 
sat  and  wept , when  we  remembered  Sion  ;*  or  in  these 
others  : Wo  is  me  that  my  sojourning  is  prolonged. \ 

But  he  does  not  stop  at  that  point  of  the  natural 
view  which  would  have  inspired  only  barren  regrets. 
He  rises  to  the  heights  of  faith.  He  considers  the 
designs  of  God,  who  wished  that  his  adorable  Son 

* Fs.  xxxxi.  1.  f Ibid.  cxix.  5. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


105 


should  experience  all  our  miseries,  and  who  associ- 
ated himself  therein  with  the  most  holy  Virgin. 

Joseph  sees  in  the  exile  that  he  suffers  an  image  of 
the  exile  of  the  human  race  in  this  world,  so  justly 
called  a valley  of  tears.  He  remembers  the  exile  of 
the  people  of  God  in  that  same  land  of  Egypt  where 
lie  is  detained  by  the  decrees  of  Providence.  He 
calls  to  mind  all  the  humiliations  and  all  the  sufferings 
of  his  fathers  and  brothers  ; and  with  every  one  of 
these  thoughts  of  faith,  corresponding  sentiments  of 
adoration  are  awakened  in  his  heart. 

Let  us  consider,  in  the  second  place,  St.  Joseph 
devoting  himself  for  Jesus  and  Mary.  His  poverty 
was  great,  when  he  was  still  living  in  his  own  country  ; 
how  much  greater  was  it  in  exile,  where  it  was  aggra- 
vated by  isolation.  It  is  evident,  says  St.  Basil,  that 
he  must  have  devoted  himself  to  hard  labor  to  procure 
the  necessaries  of  life.  But  he  did  it  with  a generous 
heart,  thinking  on  the  Infant  God  confided  to  his  care, 
and  seeing  Mary  engaged,  on  her  side,  in  the  labors 
suited  to  her  condition. 

He  finds  also  in  Jesus  and  Mary  the  source  of 
great  strength  and  heroic  courage,  which  never  fail 
him,  and  which  even  lead  him  to  console  those  for 
whom  he  devotes  his  life. 

“ Joseph,”  says  the  Church,*  “consoles  the  Child  in 
exile.”  Oh,  how  those  words  reveal  to  us  the  soul 
of  our  holy  patron.  Eor  himself  he  accepts  the  burden 
of  labor;  and  far  from  suffering  himself  to  be  dis- 
heartened by  it,  he  draws  from  the  depths  of  his  heart 
words  of  consolation  for  the  Child  Jesus  and  for  his 

* Response  Quicumque. 


106 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


pure  and  sinless  Mother.  Let  ns  admire  him  in  this 
respect,  for  it  is  great,  it  is  noble,  it  is  glorious  to  pour 
the  balm  of  consolation  on  suffering  souls. 

Let  us  consider,  in  the  third  place,  St.  Joseph  in  his 
intercourse  with  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt,  who,  as  St. 
Francis  of  Sales  remarks,  were  then,  as  formerly,  filled 
with  aversion,  and  contempt  for  the  Jews.  These 
words  from  Exodus  were  still  applicable  to  them : 
The  Egyptians  hated  the  children  of  Israel , and  afflicted 
them  and  mocked  them*  How  much  had  Joseph  then 
to  suffer  for  them ! Did  he  not  see  himself  at  every 
moment  disdained,  insulted,  refused  by  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  How  many  troubles  were 
raised  up  against  him  in  the  midst  of  that  people  who 
considered  him  no  better  than  a slave,  and  who 
inherited  all  the  hatred  of  Pharaoh  against  the 
descendants  of  Jacob ! 

But  all  these  trials  do  not  shake  his  courage.  He 
sees  himself  despised  or  insulted;  but  he  turns  his 
thoughts  and  his  heart  to  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  imme- 
diately feels  himself  animated  to  support  everything 
with  the  greatest  resignation.  He  does  more ; for, 
sharing  in  the  sentiments  of  Him  who  was  afterwards 
to  say  upon  the  cross  : “ Father , forgive  them , for  they 
knoiv  not  ivhat  they  do, t he  prays  for  those  who  insult 
him,  and  makes  use  of  all  in  his  power  to  do  them 
good. 

Let  us  consider  him  afflicted  even  to  the  depths  of 
his  heart  at  the  crimes  of  that  unhappy  people,  and 
mourning  over  the  loss  of  so  many  souls  at  the  very 
time  when  the  Saviour  of  souls  was  in  the  midst  of 
Exodus  i.  13.  fLuke  xxiii.  34. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


107 


them.  Let  us  see  him  exercise  in  this  behalf  the 
double  apostolate  of  prayer  and  good  example. 

Joseph  and  Mary  pass  in  retirement  and  prayer  the 
time  that  they  are  not  obliged  to  give  to  labor,  and  no 
doubt  they  solicit  from  Heaven  the  grace  of  salvation 
for  the  people  in  the  midst  of  whom  the  divine  will 
detained  them. 

Moreover,  they  employ  themselves  in  their  conver- 
sion in  the  way  permitted  them.  They  give  them  good 
example,  and  by  their  holy  life  teach  them  the  prac- 
tices of  true  religion.  Often  were  they  obliged  to 
traverse  the  streets  of  those  idolatrous  cities,  but  they 
always  edify  them  by  their  modesty,  by  the  expression 
of  their  countenances,  which  show  that  their  souls  are 
fixed  on  heaven,  and  detached  from  all  the  things  of 
earth. 

Joseph  and  Mary  thus  made  the  examples  of  their 
singular  virtues  shine  upon  that  people ; while  they 
prayed  for  them,  and  by  that  means  drew  down  from 
Heaven  upon  the  land  of  Egypt  the  seed  of  the  most 
precious  graces — a seed  that  was  to  be  developed  later 
on,  and  to  produce  the  wonders  witnessed  in  the 
Thebaid ; that  is  to  say,  to  present  to  the  world  those 
thousands  of  monks  and  anchorites  who  led  an  angelic 
life,  and  are  the  fairest  ornament  of  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

St.  Joseph  was,  then,  patient  under  the  trials  he 
underwent  from  the  Egyptian  people,  zealous  for  their 
conversion,  attentive  to  edify  them  by  his  conduct, 
and  thus  to  begin  the  work  of  salvation  that  was  to  be 
developed  at  the  time  fixed  by  Providence.  In  all 
this  he  is  our  worthy  model,  as  well  as  in  his  devotion 


108 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


to  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  the  faith  and  courage  with 
which  he  confronted  and  supported  the  hardships  of 
exile. 


APPLICATION. 

We  have  considered  Joseph  supporting  himself  in 
adversity  by  the  sublime  thoughts  of  faith  and  the 
noble  sentiments  of  religion.  Let  us  act  in  the  same 
way  when  we  are  under  suffering.  Let  us,  then,  lift 
our  minds  and  hearts  to  God,  and  adore  the  designs 
of  his  providence.  Let  us  keep  in  mind  that  he 
wishes  what  happens  to  us,  and  that,  if  we  put  no 
obstacle  to  it,  he  will  draw  from  thence  his  own  glory, 
and  make  it  supremely  profitable  to  us,  as  regards  our 
salvation. 

Let  us  remember,  while  meditating  on  the  sufferings 
of  St.  Joseph,  that  he  never  allowed  himself  to  be  dis- 
heartened, but  that,  placing  all  his  confidence  in  God, 
he  kept  his  soul  in  peace,  and  thought  only  how  to  do 
the  work  of  his  providence. 

Like  St.  Joseph,  let  us  labor  for  Jesus  and  Mary, 
and,  like  him,  we  shall  find  in  Jesus  and  Mary,  along 
with  peace  and  contentment,  the  strength  to  do  the 
good  that  God  expects  of  us.  We  shall  pass  through 
earth,  edifying  all  those  who  shall  be  witnesses  of  our 
actions.  He  even  will  rejoice,  and,  by  the  intercession 
of  our  powerful  protector,  will  open  for  us,  when  the 
exile  of  this  life  shall  have  ended,  the  gates  of  heaven. 

PEAYEE. 

I beseech  you,  O my  glorious  patron ! to  protect  me 
in  the  sufferings  and  adversities  of  this  life.  I beg  of 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


109 


you,  by  the  sufferings  of  your  exile,  to  obtain  for  me 
that  I may  make  a holy  use  of  my  sufferings,  that  I 
may  devote  myself  to  Jesus  and  Mary  ; that  I may  be 
always  a subject  of  edification  to  all ; so  that,  having 
faithfully  imitated  you,  I may,  at  the  hour  of  my 
death,  hear  the  angel  say  to  me  : “ Leave  the  land  of 
exile ; come  to  the  country  where  God  recompenses 
his  elect  for  their  zeal  for  his  glory,  and  their  fidelity 
in  his  service.” 


RESUME. 

What  instructions  St.  Joseph  gives  us  during  the 
sojourn  of  the  Holy  Family  in  Egypt ! 

Let  us  consider  him  in  exile  — a painful  exile a 

meritorious  exile ....  an  exile  which  he  always  looks  on 
from  the  point  of  view  of  faith. . . . 

He  is  in  exile  with  Jesus  and  Mary  ; he  undergoes  all 

their  sufferings he  labors  to  procure  them  the  means 

of  subsistence he  consoles  them 

Jesus  and  Mary  are  his  whole  thought,  the  end  of  all 
his  actions 

St.  Joseph  is  in  the  midst  of  a people  that  despises  the 
Jews  ; how  many  rebuffs,  insults,  injuries  even,  he  has  to 
put  up  with ! 

But  he  does  not  complain  ; he  gives  proof  only  of  the 
most  heroic  patience 

He  returns  good  for  evil ; in  union  with  Mary,  he 

prays  for  the  conversion  of  those  idolators he  assists 

therein  by  the  edification  of  his  conduct 

Exercising  the  apostolate  of  prayer  and  good  example, 
Mary  and  Joseph  cause  that  seed  of  grace  to  descend 
upon  the  land  of  Egypt  which  was  afterwards  to  pro- 
duce so  many  saints 


110 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Let  us  profit  by  such  examples  ; let  us  be  patient  under 
trials  ; let  us  devote  ourselves  with  joy  to  our  work  from 

love  for  Jesus  and  Mary let  us  pray  for  those  who  may 

have  caused  us  suffering ....  let  us  edify  every  one  by  our 
irreproachable  conduct. 

Fruits. — To  confront  difficulties  in  a spirit  of  faith  ; to  persevere  in 
union  of  heart  with  Jesus  and  Mary. 


SIXTEENTH  MEDITATION. 

RETURN  OF  THE  HOLY  FAMILY. 


“ I called  my  son  out  of  Egypt.” — Osee  xi.  I. 


CONSIDERATION. 

•/ 

We  know  not  the  exact  time  that  the  Holy  Family 
remained  in  Egypt ; we  only  know  that  their  exile 
ended  at  the  death  of  Herod.  Then  the  angel  appeared 
again  to  Joseph  during  his  sleep,  and  said  to  him: 
Rise , and  talce  the  child  and  his  mother , and  go  into  the 
land  of  Israel ; for  they  are  dead  who  sought  the  life  of 
the  child* 

Let  us  Christians,  who  meditate  on  the  virtues  of  St. 
Joseph,  place  ourselves  face  to  face  with  that  perfect 
model,  the  study  of  which  is  so  profitable  to  us.  Let 
us  this  day  examine  in  what  dispositions  of  soul  he 
received  the  order  to  return  to  Judea,  and  how  he 
executed  it. 

St.  Joseph  received  the  command  of  the  angel,  first, 
with  faith ; second,  in  a spirit  of  obedience ; third, 
with  a pure  joy ; and,  fourth,  with  gratitude. 

He  received  it  with  faith.  He  considers  that  it 
comes  from  God,  through  the  medium  of  an  angel ; 
that  its  object  is  to  bring  back  the  Child  Jesus  to 
Judea;  that  it  enters  into  the  designs  of  Providence 
for  the  great  work  of  the  redemption  of  mankind ; that 
it  makes  known  the  designs  of  God,  who  holds  all 
* St.  Matt.  ii.  20. 


112 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


events  in  his  hands,  and  directs  them  at  his  pleasure 
for  the  advantage  of  his  elect. 

Joseph  considers,  moreover,  that  by  the  execution 
of  that  order  will  be  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Osee : 
I called  my  son  out  of  Egypt ; and  that  the  mission  of 
Jesus  Christ  will  be  prepared,  wdiich  was,  in  the  first 
place,  to  begin  with  the  Jewish  people,  before  extend- 
ing to  the  Gentiles. 

Such  are  his  thoughts,  to  which  the  purest  senti- 
ments of  submission  to  the  will  of  God — joy  and  grati- 
tude— find  a corresponding  echo  in  his  heart. 

Joseph  had  come  into  Egypt  through  obedience,  and 
at  the  simple  intimation  given  to  him  by  an  angel 
during  his  sleep.  He  leaves  it  for  the  same  motive, 
and  in  consequence  of  an  order  communicated  to  him 
in  the  same  way.  God  always  finds  in  him  a most 
faithful  servant,  invariably  disposed  to  do  his  holy 
will,  and  whom  he  could  order  in  the  same  way  what 
was  most  painful  to  nature,  and  wdiat  was  most 
agreeable  to  it. 

Joseph,  although  perfectly  resigned  to  remain  in 
Egypt  all  the  time  that  it  might  please  divine  Provi- 
dence, nevertheless  receives  the  order  to  return  to 
the  country  of  his  ancestors  with  pleasure ; but  still 
in  his  joy  he  gives  glory  to  God,  because  his  joy  pro- 
ceeds only  from  supernatural  motives. 

Joseph  feels  happy  at  the  order  to  return  to  Israel, 
chiefly  because  he  understands  that  that  order  enters 
into  the  viewrs  of  God’s  mercy,  wTho  wishes  to  hasten 
the  wrork  of  the  salvation  of  mankind ; because  he 
knows  it  will  be  a source  of  joy  to  the  most  holy 
Virgin,  who  suffers  in  that  land  where  the  true  God 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


113 


has  so  few  faithful  adorers,  and  because  he  himself 
was  to  see  again  that  promised  land  which  recalled  so 
many  prodigies  of  the  power  and  goodness  of  God  in 
favor  of  his  nation,  and  on  which  the  sun  of  justice 
was  arising  that  was  to  enlighten  it  with  divine 
splendor. 

Behold  the  principal  motives  for  his  joy,  which  in- 
spire in  him  sentiments  of  the  most  lively  gratitude. 
Let  us  hear  him  repeat,  with  Mary,  these  words  of  the 
Royal  Prophet : I rejoiced  at  the  things  that  were  said 
to  me  ; we  shall  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord  ;*  wTe  shall 
return  to  thv  sacred  courts,  O Jerusalem ! He  testi- 
fies that  he  appreciates  the  favors  of  Heaven  not  only 
towards  himself,  but  towards  all  mankind,  whose  day 
of  deliverance  is  drawing  near.  He  gives  glory  to 
God,  and  devotes  himself  with  fresh  courage  to  ac- 
complish his  adorable  will,  and  to  concur,  by  any  new 
sacrifices,  in  the  execution  of  his  merciful  designs. 

Such  are  the  holy  and  admirable  dispositions  of 
Joseph  when  he  receives  the  order  to  return  to  Judea. 
Let  us  see  now  how  he  executes  it,  because  we  shall 
find  therein  new  subjects  to  admire  and  edify  us. 

Let  us  contemplate  the  Holy  Family  returning  to 
J udea.  It  encounters  the  same  difficulties  as  when  it 
left  it ; on  that  account  Joseph  has  need  of  the  same 
courage,  the  same  resignation,  the  same  strength  of 
soul.  But  the  Infant  Jesus  has  grown  during  exile, 
and  cannot  be  carried  but  with  very  great  difficulty ; 
on  the  other  hand,  he  is  still  too  weak  to  walk  far.  It 
is,  therefore,  necessary  for  Joseph  and  Mary  to  help 
him,  and  add  to  their  fatigue  by  carrying  him  a great 


Ps.  cxxi.  1. 


114 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


portion  of  the  way.  But  our  adorable  Saviour  always 
lessens  their  sufferings  by  walking  unaided  as  much  as 
his  strength  will  allow. 

Let  us  consider  him  between  his  most  holy  Mother 
and  his  foster-father,  and  treading  with  his  divine  feet 
on  the  sand  of  the  desert,  which  keeps  but  for  a short 
time  the  precious  imprint.  What  sentiments  are  then 
awakened  in  the  hearts  of  Mary  and  Joseph ! They 
are  with  God,  who  is  their  love.  They  see  him  con- 
fiding in  their  solicitude.  They  hear  him  thank  them 
with  his  lips  for  their  care  of  him.  They  read  in  his 
eyes  his  love  and  gratitude.  O Jesus ! Could  Joseph 
and  Mary  feel  their  fatigues,  when,  in  the  intervals  of 
repose,  you  impressed  on  their  faces  a kiss  from  your 
divine  lips ! 

In  the  meanwhile  they  approach  Judea ; Joseph 
and  Mary  thank  Providence  that  has  watched  over 
them,  and  brought  them  back  to  their  own  country. 
No  doubt  they  would  have  wished  to  thank  him  at 
Jerusalem  in  his  holy  temple,  and  to  see  Bethlehem 
again,  with  its  hospitable  grotto,  where  tire  Infant  God 
was  born ; but  Joseph  has  learned  that  Archelaus 
reigns  in  Judea  in  the  place  of  Herod  his  father ; he 
apprehends,  with  reason,  that  he  has  inherited  the 
hatred  of  that  tyrant  against  the  new  King  of  the 
Jews.  On  that  account,  consulting  only  a wise  pru- 
dence, he  settles  outside  of  his  jurisdiction,  at  Naza- 
reth in  Galilee — thus  fulfilling  the  designs  of  God,  who 
had  shown,  by  the  prophets,  that  Christ  would  be 
called  the  Nazarene. 

Such  are  the  sentiments  and  conduct  of  Joseph  on 
his  return  from  Egypt — patient,  resigned,  courageous ; 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


115 


devoted  to  Jesus  and  Mary ; acting  in  everything  with 
great  prudence,  and  from  motives  of  faith  and  religion. 
How  worthy,  then,  he  is  of  the  veneration  of  Chris- 
tians ! How  much  he  deserves  to  be  the  object  of  our 
imitation  in  the  whole  conduct  of  our  lives ! 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  place  ourselves  only  at  the  point  of  view  of 
faith,  to  appreciate  all  things.  Let  us,  in  a spirit  of 
faith,  be  continually  disposed  to  do  all  that  God  re- 
quires of  us,  whatever  be  the  difficulties  we  may  have 
to  encounter. 

At  the  thought  of  the  benefits  of  God  towards  us,  let 
us  give  full  rein  to  sentiments  of  the  most  lively  grati- 
tude. Let  us  thank  him  especially  for  the  grace  of  our 
vocation,  for  that  command  which  our  Angel  Guardian 
gave  us,  on  his  part,  to  leave  the  Egypt  of  the  world  to 
go  into  the  holy  land  of  religion.  Let  us  esteem  such 
a favor.  Let  us  thank  the  divine  goodness  for  it,  and, 
in  return,  let  us  devote  ourselves  without  reserve  to 
the  work  of  salvation  confided  to  us. 

Like  Joseph  and  Mary,  let  us  draw  our  strength  for 
the  practice  of  virtue  from  our  union  with  Jesus 
Christ.  Let  us  be  persuaded  that  nothing  could  ap- 
pear to  us  too  painful,  did  we  act  only  in  union  with 
that  divine  Saviour.  Let  us  be  patient  and  resigned 
in  the  trials  which  Providence  ordains  for  us.  Let  us 
think  that  the  day  will  soon  come  when  wre  hope  to 
hear  the  angel  of  God  communicate  to  us  the  order 
to  leave  the  exile  of  this  life  to  go  into  the  heavenly 
country.  All ! what  will  the  sufferings  we  may  have 
endured  appear  to  us  then  ? 


116 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PEAYEE. 

The  more  I meditate  on  your  virtues,  O glorious 
St.  Joseph ! the  more  I understand  the  importance  of 
practicing  them.  Obtain  for  me,  then,  O my  holy 
patron  ! that  I may  be  your  worthy  imitator  ! so  that, 
when  I leave  this  land  of  exile,  I may  hail  the  country 
where  you  await  me,  and  whither  you  invite  me  to  go 
through  the  narrow  way  you  have  followed. 

b£sum£. 

Let  us  consider  St.  Joseph  receiving  and  executing  the 
order  to  quit  Egypt,  to  return  to  the  land  of  Israel. 

An  angel  appeared  to  him,  and  said  : Arise,  and  take 
tine  child 

Joseph  received  that  order,  Is?,  with  faith. . . .2c?,  in  a 
spirit  of  obedience  and  submission  to  God ....  3d,  with 
great  and  holy  joy. . . Ath , with  a true  gratitude  that  leads 
him  to  praise  the  divine  goodness,  and  to  renew  the  act 
of  perfect  devotedness  to  the  work  which  God  has  con- 
fided to  him .... 

Joseph  executes  that  order  with  promptitude ....  with 
courage. . . .with  prudence 

He  draws  his  strength  from  his  union  with  Jesus. . . .In 
all  that  he  does  he  is  inspired  by  his  love  for  that  divine 
Child.  From  prudence,  he  does  not  go  to  Jerusalem, 
where  the  son  of  the  cruel  Herod  reigns,  but  to  Nazareth, 
a village  outside  of  the  jurisdiction  of  that  prince 

At  the  consideration  of  so  many  virtues,  each  practiced 
with  so  much  perfection,  let  us  think  upon  ourselves,  and 
see  if  we  truly  take  St.  Joseph  for  our  model. . . . 

Fruits. — To  preserve  ourselves  in  the  dispositions  to  do  all  that  it 
will  please  God  to  order  us  by  our  superiors  ; to  show  that  we  are  grate- 
ful for  the  grace  of  our  vocation  ; to  remain  united  to  Jesus,  who  alone 
is  the  true  strength  of  a Christian. 


SEVENTEENTH  MEDITATION. 


JOURNEY  OF  THE  HOLY  FAMILY  TO  THE  TEMPLE  OF 
JERUSALEM. 


“ His  parents  went  every  year  to  Jerusalem,  at  the  solemn  day  of  the 
pasch.  And  when  he  was  twelve  years  old,  they  went  up  to  Jerusalem, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  feast.” — St.  Luke  ii.  41,  42. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Joseph  led  at  Nazareth,  in  company  with  Jesus  and 
Mary,  the  most  holy,  the  most  edifying  life  that  can 
be  imagined,  and  even  the  most  retired  that  was  pos- 
sible to  him.  However,  every  year,  at  the  solemn  day 
of  the  pasch,  he  went  with  the  most  holy  Virgin  to 
Jerusalem,  to  adore  God  in  his  Temple ; and  when  J esus 
was  twelve  years  old,  they  brought  him  thither,  to  com- 
ply with  the  law’,  which  became  of  obligation  at  that 
age. 

What  a subject  of  contemplation  for  the  Christian 
soul  is  the  Child  Jesus  walking  on  foot,  sometimes 
with  his  most  holy  Mother,  and  sometimes  with  his 
foster-father,  advancing  towards  Jerusalem,  there  to 
adore  his  heavenly  Father,  while  awaiting  the  great 
day  when  he  should  there  offer  him  the  sacrifice  of 
himself  on  Calvary ! What  inward  joy  for  Mary  and 
Joseph,  who  admire  the  qualities  that  he  allows  to 
manifest  themselves  in  his  adorable  person  ! 


118 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


But,  alas ! that  joy  was  soon  to  change  into  grief, 
that  it  might  be  known  what  love  and  tenderness  they 
had  for  the  Child  God. 

When  they  had  satisfied  their  devotion,  they  took 
again  the  road  to  Nazareth,  journeying,  as  was  the 
custom  in  that  sort  of  pilgrimage,  separate  from  each 
other — Mary  with  the  women,  and  Joseph  with  the 
men.  But  Jesus  had  remained  at  Jerusalem,  and  they 
did  not  remark  his  absence,  because  Mary  believed 
him  to  be  with  Joseph,  and  Joseph  believed  him  to  be 
with  Mary.  It  was  not,  then,  until  evening  that  they 
perceived  that  the  divine  Child  was  not  with  them. 

Ah  ! who  can  conceive  what  then  passed  in  their 
souls,  the  sorrow  by  which  they  were  agitated.  No, 
nothing  is  capable  of  expressing  them  grief,  because  it 
was  in  accord  with  the  greatness  of  their  love  for  Jesus, 
and  that  love  knew  no  bounds. 

Christian  souls ! let  us  meditate  on  the  dispositions 
of  St.  Joseph  at  the  time  of  that  sorrowful  trial ; we 
shall  find  therein  useful  lessons  as  to  how  we  ought  to 
conduct  ourselves  in  our  sufferings. 

Joseph  is  in  affliction,  and  that  affliction  has  as  its 
motive  the  loss  of  Jesus,  the  dangers  that  that  divine 
Child  might  run,  and,  moreover,  the  deep  grief  in  which 
the  most  holy  Yirgin  was  plunged.  He  fears  that  the 
adorable  Saviour  may  be  in  the  power  of  his  enemies, 
and  that  the  time  of  the  great  sacrifice  may  be  already 
come.  He  thinks  how  Mary  is  asking  herself  if  the 
prophecy  of  Simeon  is  at  that  time  to  be  fully  accom- 
plished. He  thinks  not  of  himself,  but  makes  the  dan- 
gers and  grief  of  those  whom  he  loves  the  whole  sub* 
ject  of  his  affliction. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


119 


Joseph  is  grieved  at  the  loss  of  Jesus  in  a way  that 
no  language  can  express,  because  Jesus  is  all  to  him. 
But  that  divine  Saviour  is  equally  all  for  our  souls, 
and  we  should  then  dread  nothing  so  much  as  to  lose 

him. 

Joseph  is  afflicted,  but  not  crushed  down  or  dis- 
heartened ; he  weeps  for  Jesus,  but  he  makes  haste  to 
find  him  again.  Let  us  see  him  questioning  his  friends 
and  kindred  ; then,  returning  towards  Jerusalem,  pass- 
ing quickly  through  the  streets  and  squares  of  that 
great  city,  allowing  himself  no  rest,  asking  all  those 
who  could  give  him  any  information  as  to  Him  whom 
he  seeks,  saying  to  them,  like  the  spouse  in  the  Can- 
ticles : Have  you  seen  him  whom  my  soul  loveth  ? * 

What  a lesson  for  those  who  give  way  to  faint-heart- 
edness, and  who,  when  God  sends  them  any  sufferings, 
sink  powerless  beneath  the  weight  of  the  trial ! That 
the  soul  of  a Christian  should  be  sorrowful,  or  even 
overwhelmed  with  anguish,  is  not  astonishing,  since 
we  are  in  a valley  of  tears ; but  it  should  never  be  dis- 
heartened, because  it  has  always  the  assistance  of 
Heaven  in  proportion  to  its  actual  wants. 

Joseph  is  afflicted,  and  then,  above  all,  he  prays 
with  the  greatest  fervor.  Oh  who  will  give  us  to 
understand  what  were  the  aspirations  of  his  soul  to- 
wards God  during  those  three  days  of  inconceivable 
anguish ! What  prayers  he  offered  up  to  Heaven,  in 
union  with  Mary,  to  receive  the  light  of  which  he  had 
need,  or,  rather,  to  obtain  that  the  adorable  Child 
should  be  restored  to  him ! 

Joseph  suffers  for  the  loss  of  Jesus,  and  yet  he  was 


Cant.  iii.  3. 


120 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


not  the  cause  of  it.  How  much  greater  would  his 
grief  have  been  had  his  conscience  reproached  him 
with  being  the  cause  of  the  misfortune  that  filled  him 
with  sorrow  ! Ah  ! how  many  tears,  how  many  bitter 
tears,  ought  not  those  to  shed  who,  through  their  own 
fault,  have  lost  Jesus — those  who,  by  them  sins,  have 
made  him  flee  from  their  hearts,  to  which  he  alone 
could  give  peace  and  joy ! 

Such  are  the  precious  lessons  that  spring  directly 
from  the  affliction  of  St.  Joseph;  let  us  add  to  them 
those  that  arise  from  his  conduct  when  he  had  again 
found  Jesus  Christ. 

Joseph,  after  having  in  vain  sought  for  Jesus  among 
his  acquaintances  and  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  re- 
turns to  the  Temple.  There  he  sees  him  in  the  midst 
of  the  doctors,  questioning  them  with  all  the  candor  of 
a child  of  his  age  who  desires  instruction,  and  answer- 
ing them  with  all  the  wisdom  of  the  most  enlightened 
among  them.  Oh  what  joy  then  filled  his  soul ! 

But  it  is  with  the  joy  of  Joseph  as  with  his  sorrow  : 
it  has  its  principal  cause  in  Jesus  and  Mary.  He  is 
happy  because  the  Child  is  found  again  without  any 
misfortune  having  happened  to  him,  and  because  the 
heart  of  Mary  is  relieved  of  an  enormous  weight,  or, 
rather,  freed  from  the  sword  of  grief  that  had  pierced 
it,  and  had  remained  there  all  the  time  that  she  sought 
her  adorable  Son.  In  sentiments  of  such  pure  joy, 
Joseph  thanks  God  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  and 
rejoices  that  the  divine  Child  is  returned  again  to  him, 
to  seek  once  more  all  the  cares  of  Jhis  paternal 
solicitude. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


121 


APPLICATION. 

Let  ns  understand  by  the  interior  dispositions  we 
have  been  meditating  upon  in  St.  Joseph,  that  there 
is  no  evil  equal  to  the  loss  of  Jesus.  Ah!  let  us 
pity  the  condition  of  those  who  no  longer  possess  him 
in  their  souls  ! Let  us  pity  our  own,  if  we  have  driven 
him  from  our  hearts  by  sin. 

Where  Jesus  is  not,  there  is  trouble,  agitation,  and 
perplexity.  To  be  separated  from  Jesus  is  the 
greatest  of  misfortunes,  and  the  one  most  deserving 
of  our  tears.  The  loss  of  Jesus  is  the  loss  of  grace,  is 
the  loss  of  eternal  life. 

Without  being  in  mortal  sin,  religious  souls  some- 
times experience  what  a great  suffering  it  is  when 
Jesus  deprives  us  of  his  presence.  They  have  seasons 
of  aridity  and  spiritual  dryness.  Jesus  shows  himself 
no  longer  to  the  eyes  of  their  souls,  and  they  believe 
him  absent.  Let  them,  then,  imitate  St.  Joseph.  Let 
them  seek  him  with  eagerness,  in  spite  of  their  suffer- 
ings ; and  even  because  of  their  sufferings,  let  them 
pray.  Let  them  go  into  the  temple  of  God,  and  avoid 
the  world ; there  they  will  find  him,  and  he  will  con- 
sole them  the  more  in  proportion  to  their  grief  for  his 
apparent  separation. 

Let  us  watch  over  ourselves,  so  as  not  voluntarily 
to  commit  any  sin,  so  that  in  times  of  aridity  we  may 
be  able  to  give  ourselves  the  consoling  testimony  that 
we  are  not  the  cause  of  it;  that  we  may  be  able  to  say : 
“ It  is  you,  O Jesus ! who  conceals  your  presence ; 
it  is  not  I who  force  you  to  flee  away.”  However,  if 

we  are  in  that  state,  let  us  examine  if  it  is  not  in  pun- 

6 


122 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


ishmeni  of  .our  offences,  and  let  us  adopt  the  resolu- 
tion to  amend  our  lives. 

PRAYER. 

I entreat  you,  O glorious  St.  Joseph ! to  obtain  for 
me  the  grace  of  never  separating  myself  from  Jesus 
by  sin.  Oh  what  joy  will  be  mine,  if  I am  united  to 
him  at  the  moment  of  my  death,  since  then  I shall  be 
permitted  to  go  and  join  you  in  praising  in  heaven 
his  infinite  clemency.  Grant  by  your  intercession 
that  I may  experience  that  happiness;  I beg  it  of 
you  in  the  name  of  the  sorrows  and  joys  you  experi- 
enced on  occasion  of  the  loss  and  finding  of  the  Child 
Jesus  in  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem. 

resume. 

Let  us  contemplate  Joseph  in  his  house  at  Nazareth, 
where  he"  leads  a holy  and  retired  life ....  He  goes  every 
year  to  Jerusalem  for  the  solemn  day  of  the  pascfi.... 
He  brings  Jesus  thither,  when  he  was  twelve  years  of 
age 

Let  us  contemplate  the  Child  God  making  that  jour- 
ney. Let  us  ask  ourselves  what  are  his  thoughts  as  he 
draws  near  to  the  City  of  Jerusalem,  where  he  will  be  one 
day  sacrificed. 

Let  us  consider  the  joy  of  Mary  and  Joseph  thus 
travelling  with  the  divine  Child 

But  it  enters  into  the  designs  of  Providence  to  submit 
them  to  a painful  trial.  Jesus  is  not  with  them  when 
they  resume  the  road  to  Nazareth ! 

What  grief  when  they  perceive  it  in  the  evening! 
What  tears,  and  what  a diligent  search  they  make ! 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


123 


Let  us  consider  the  interior  disposition  of  St.  Joseph 
in  these  circumstances 

Let  us  imitate  him  in  our  afflictions  ; looking  at  them 
only  from  the  point  of  view  of  faith,  never  allowing  our- 
selves to  be  disheartened,  but,  above  all,  redoubling  our 
prayers .... 

At  last  St.  Joseph  and  the  most  holy  Virgin  find 
Jesus  in  the  Temple.  What  joy ! . . . . and  also  what 
gratitude  towards  God,  who  tries  the  souls  of  his  ser- 
vants, and  thus  procures  for  them  unutterable  conso- 
lation ! . . . . 

Fruits. — To  be  afraid  only  of  losing  Jesus  ; to  hasten  to  come  forth 
from  the  state  of  sin,  if,  through  our  misfortune,  we  are  in  that  state  ; 
to  pray  in  our  afflictions,  and  never  to  suffer  ourselves  to  be  downcast 
or  discouraged. 


EIGHTEENTH  MEDITATION. 


JOSEPH  AT  NAZARETH. 


“He  was  subject  to  them.’’ — St.  Luke  ii.  51. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  transport  ourselves  to  the  humble  cottage  of 
St.  Joseph  at  Nazareth,  and  let  us  consider  that  he 
lives  there,  in  union  with  Jesus  Christ,  the  hidden 
God,  and  with  his  most  holy  mother,  a life  of  labor, 
humility,  retirement,  and  prayer. 

St.  Joseph  is  poor ; he  is  obliged  to  undergo  painful 
labor  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  Holy  Family ; but  it 
is  with  faith,  and  consequently  with  pleasure,  that  he 
submits  to  that  necessity  of  his  condition  in  life.  He 
knows  that  by  labor  he  pleases  God,  procures  for 
Jesus  and  Mary  what  is  necessary  for  them,  and 
imitates  the  Incarnate  Word,  whom  he  sees  unite  with 
him  in  the  labor  of  his  humble  trade. 

Joseph  joins  to  labor  the  practice  of  the  most  pro- 
found humility.  He  is  the  head  of  the  Holy  Family. 
Mary  honors  him  as  her  lord ; Jesus  is  as  submissive 
to  him  as  the  most  obedient  of  children.  He  has  thus 
authority  over  what  is  greatest  in  earth  and  heaven ; 
and  yet  his  hear  craves  only  for  humiliation  and  con- 
tempt, and  seeks  only  to  be  annihilated  more  and  more. 

Ah ! what  are  his  thoughts  when  he  has  to  give 
an  order  to  Mary,  all  whose  prerogatives  he  knows! 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


125 


or  to  Jesus,  in  whom  he  adores  his  Lord  and  his 
Master!  * He  orders  what  he  judges  useful;  but  he 
does  it  only  from  obedience,  and  in  sentiments  of  the 
most  profound  humility.  Considering  who  are  the 
august  persons  whom  Providence  has  placed  under 
him,  his  authority  is  a crushing  weight  to  him  ; he 
would  wish  to  act  only  as  the  humble  servant  of  those 
whom  he  is  obliged  to  command. 

Oh  how  much  progress  St.  Joseph  must  have  made 
in  humility ! since  the  very  exercise  of  a command  was 
to  him  the  occasion  of  practicing  that  excellent  virtue. 
Therefore,  he  is  worthy  to  be  proposed  for  the  imita- 
tion of  those  who  have  authority  over  others,  and  who 
do  not  exercise  it  well,  but  when  they  consider  them- 
selves as  the  servants  of  those  who  are  subject  to  them. 

But  the  life  of  St.  Joseph  at  Nazareth  was  not  only 
a life  of  labor  and  humility;  it  was  also  a life  of  retire- 
ment and  prayer. 

Jesus  Christ,  not  judging  it  yet  the  time  to  reveal 
himself  to  men,  leads  in  the  house  of  his  foster-father 
that  hidden  life  by  which  he  teaches  us  for  so  many 
years  the  practice  of  the  virtues  least  apparent  and 
least  appreciated  by  men,  but  in  reality  most  meritori- 
ous in  the  eyes  of  God ; that  life  of  silence,  obedience, 
and  denial  which  the  holy  Gospel  makes  known  to  us 
by  these  words,  He  was  subject  to  them ; and  by  these 
others,  Jesus  increased  in  ivisdom,  age,  and  grace , with 
God  and  men* 

Now,  who,  above  all,  should  understand  this  lesson 
of  the  divine  Master,  if  not  the  two  persons  who  were 
constantly  witnesses  of  it  ? Who,  after  Mary,  should 
* St.  Luke  ii.  51. 


126 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


learn  more  than  Joseph  from  the  hidden  God  the 
practice  of  retirement,  prayer,  and  silence  ? 

Let  ns  question  the  heart  of  that  holy  patriarch ; 
let  us  ask  ourselves  what  sentiments  must  have  been 
awakened  there  at  the  sight  of  a God  thus  annihilating 
himself  with  whom  he  dwells  under  the  same  roof. 

What  did  Joseph  think  when  beholding  the  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth  poorly  fed,  poorly  clad,  and 
laboring  in  company  with  him  with  his  own  divine 
hands  at  the  exercise  of  his  laborious  profession? 
What  did  he  think  when  seeing  the  Messiah  expected 
for  four  thousand  years,  the  Desired  of  nations,  pass- 
ing many  years  lost  among  the  poor,  showing  himself 
only  as  an  ordinary  workman,  living  unknown,  per- 
haps despised?  What  did  he  think  when  beholding 
Him  who  had  come  into  the  world  to  change  the  face 
of  the  w~orld  by  the  efficacy  of  his  holy  words,  con- 
demning himself  to  a long  and  mysterious  silence  ? 

Ah ! doubtless  Joseph  wtis  astonished ; but  he 
understood  that  Jesus  Christ,  who  taught  by  example 
before  teaching  by  precept,  was  then  establishing  the 
basis  of  his  doctrine,  and  practicing  in  the  most  sub- 
lime manner  the  great  virtues  he  was  to  teach  man- 
kind. Therefore,  he  gives  way  to  sentiments  of  the 
most  lively  admiration,  and  seeks,  in  imitation  of  his 
divine  Master,  to  lead  a hidden  life, — all  whose 
moments,  not  devoted  to  labor,  are  as  much  as  pos- 
sible consecrated  to  retirement,  recollection,  silence, 
and  prayer. 

In  the  exercises  of  this  hidden  life,  Joseph  acquires 
innumerable  merits,  and  tastes  the  sweetest  consola- 
tions. Jesus  Christ  is  the  sole  object  of  his  thoughts 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


127 


and  liis  affections.  He  makes  use  of  his  understand- 
ing only  to  know  him,  his  heart  to  love  him,  his  will 
to  please  him.  All  his  actions  are  holy,  and  done  from 
the  highest  motives.  The  retired  life  that  he  leads 
with  Jesus  and  Mary  ennobles  his  soul,  and  leaves  it 
accessible  only  to  the  fires  of  the  purest  love. 

Ah  ! if  the  house  of  Obededon  was  filled  with  bless- 
ings because  the  ark . of  the  covenant  had  remained 
there  for  three  months,  what  must  the  house  of 
Joseph  have  been,  where  Mary,  the  ark  of  the  new 
Covenant,  resided  for  thirty  years,  with  Jesus,  the 
Lawgiver,  from  whom  the  Ark  of  the  Jews  received 
all  its  sacredness  ? With  what  blessings  must  not  he 
have  been  enriched  to  whom  that  holy  house  be- 
longed, and  who  there  watched  with  so  much  religion 
and  care  over  the  sacred  deposits  confided  to  his  pru- 
dence and  devotedness ! 

The  hidden  life  that  Joseph  lives  with  Jesus  is  to 
aim  a source  of  innumerable  merits ; it  is  also  a 
source  of  ineffable  consolation  to  him.  Oh  what 
sweet  joy  he  experienced  when  he  considered  that  he 
was  alone  with  Jesus  and  Mary,  when  he  felt  his  heart 
living  in  the  life  of  their  hearts,  swelling  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  same  sentiments  of  adoration,  goodness, 
and  charity ! How  often  has  he  had  reason  to  ex- 
claim, “ It  it  is  good  to  be  here !”  and  to  thank  God 
for  the  place  assigned  Jiim  by  his  providence  ! 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  lead  in  our  communities,  like  the  Holy 
Family  at  Nazareth,  a life  of  labor,  self-denial,  and 
sacrifice. 


128 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Let  us  accept  with  joy  whatever  there  may  be 
painful  to  us  in  what  obedience  prescribes.  Let  us 
devote  ourselves  with  zeal  to  the  holy  work  entrusted 
to  us.  Let  us  think  that,  like  Joseph,  it  is  for  Jesus 
and  Mary  we  work,  and,  like  him,  nothing  that  is 
our  duty  will  appear  to  us  too  painful  or  too  difficult. 

If  we  are  in  authority,  let  us  imitate  St.  Joseph  when 
giving  his  orders  to  J esus  and  Mary ; that  is  to  say,  let 
us  order  only  in  a spirit  of  faith,  and  let  us  act  with 
respect  and  deference  towards  those  under  us.  If  we 
are  inferiors,  let  us  obey  as  Joseph  would  have  wished 
to  obey,  or  as  Jesus  and  Mary  obeyed  him.  Let  us  be 
humble,  remembering  that  our  holy  patron,  although 
placed  over  Jesus  and  Mary,  never  entertained  esteem 
for  himself. 

Finally,  let  us  exercise,  in  the  measure  prescribed 
by  our  rules,  the  practices  of  a hidden  life.  Oh  what 
merits  we  shall  acquire  if,  like  St.  Joseph,  we  remain 
in  retirement  with  Jesus  and  Mary — if  we  live  separate 
from  the  world — if  we  make  our  divine  Saviour  still 
more  the  subject  of  our  meditations.  Our  souls  would 
enjoy  great  peace,  and  that  peace  would  be  the  presage 
to  that  we  shall  taste  in  heaven  with  our  glorious  pa- 
tron, if  we  have  been  his  faithful  imitators  upon  earth. 

PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  who  hast  attained  to  excellence  in  this 
hidden  life,  and  art  its  perfect  model ! thou  hast  at  thy 
disposal  special  graces  for  those  whom  God  calls  to 
walk  in  thy  footsteps ; deign,  I beseech  thee,  to  make 
me  a partaker  of  them.  Obtain  for  me,  with  the  love 
of  retirement  and  silence,  the  gift  of  prayer,  and  the 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


129 


courage  to  imitate  the  virtues  thou  didst  practice  in 
the  holy  house  of  Nazareth,  so  that,  by  thy  protection, 
I may  come,  like  thee,  filled  with  graces  and  merits  to 
the  harbor  of  salvation. 


Let  us  go  in  spirit  to  the  modest  abode  of  St.  Joseph  in 
Nazareth.  Let  us  consider  what  virtues  he  there  most 
especially  practices. 

Let  us  contemplate  him  employing  himself  in  the  labors 

of  his  occupation,  upon  which  he  enters  with  ardor, in 

a spirit  of  faith, ....  and  with  a view  to  relieve  the  wants 
of  Jesus  and  Mary 

Let  us  see  him  practicing  humility  in  the  most  perfect 
manner,  and  finding  occasion  for  it  in  the  very  exercise 
of  authority .... 

Finally,  let  us  consider  him  as  a perfect  model  of  the 
hidden  life 

Joseph  admires  Jesus  leading  a life  so  laborious,  so 
modest,  so  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  men he  compre- 

hends that  the  divine  Master  teaches  by  example  what 
he  was  afterwards  to  teach  by  precept,  and  he  becomes 
his  imitator. 

How  many  merits  he  acquires  by  his  recollectedness, 
and  his  application  to  prayer,  and  what  consolations  he 
finds  in  his  union  with  Jesus ! 

Let  us  learn,  then,  what  are  the  advantages  of  the  hid- 
den life,  and  let  us  strive  to  acquire  them  as  far  as  our 
duties  permit. 

Fruits. — To  respect  those  whom  we  order,  and  still  more  those  who 
have  a right  to  order  us ; to  have  no  communication  with  people  of  the 
world,  hut  what  is  indispensable. 


NINETEENTH  MEDITATION. 


THE  HOLY  FAMILY. 


“ They  had  but  one  heart  and  one  soul.” — Acts  iv.  32. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Nothing  is  more  pleasing  to  tlie  Christian  soul  than 
to  call  to  mind  the  greatness  of  the  Holy  Family,  and 
the  virtues  of  which  they  give  us  an  example. 

The  Holy  Family  is  the  society  of  three  persons — 
the  most  distinguished  that  have  been  or  ever  will  be. 
The  Holy  Family  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  Mother  of 
God,  and  the  Representative  of  God — it  is  the  Holy 
of  Holies,  the  Queen  of  Saints,  and  the  greatest  of  the 
saints.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to  conceive  the  dignity 
of  even  that  one  of  its  members  who  occupies  the  third 
rank ; how  much  more  difficult  to  conceive  the  excel- 
lence of  the  society  they  form  together. 

The  Holy  Family  was  the  object  of  the  veneration 
of  the  angels.  Ah ! how  many  times  have  those  blessed 
spirits  come  down  from  heaven  to  earth  to  contemplate 
and  honor  it ! With  what  emotions  have  they  watched 
over  it,  and  with  what  joy  and  readiness  have  they 
paid  it  their  homage  ! 

The  Holy  Family  has  always  been  the  object  of  the 
veneration  of  true  Christians,  and  even  of  the  whole 
heavenly  Court.  What  soul  is  there,  however  little 
devout,  that  has  not,  some  time  or  other,  visited  it  in 
pious  meditation  ? Is  it  not  with  it  that  the  greatest 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


131 


servants  of  God  found  it  their  delight  to  dwell  ? What 
other  company  did  St.  Bernard,  St.  Bernardine  of 
Sienna,  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  and  so  many  other  no  less 
illustrious  persons  seek  in  preference  ? Therefore 
they  were  delighted  when  celebrating  its  greatness, 
and  did  all  they  could  to  propagate  devotion  to  it. 

Let  us  hear  the  Blessed  Leonard,  of  Port  Maurice, 
on  this  subject : “ The  Holy  Family,”  says  he,  “ is 
neither  all  divine  nor  all  human,  but  participates  of 
both : therefore  it  is  justly  called  the  Trinity  on  earth.” 
“Where  shall  we  ever  find,”  adds  this  pious  author, 
“words  to  paint  worthily  this  admirable  trinity  of 
Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph  ? Bender  frequent  homage 
to  the  adorable  Trinity  in  heaven,  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  but  honor  also  the  holy  trinity  that  dwelt 
visibly  among  us  upon  earth.  Engrave  on  your  heart 
the  names  of  Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph,  for  they  are 
three  heavenly  names.  Teach  your  children  to  pro- 
nounce them  with  respect.  Bepeat  those  holy  names 
frequently  in  the  day,  and  let  them  be  upon  your  lips 
at  the  moment  you  breathe  your  last.” 

But  after  having  celebrated,  in  union  with  the  angels 
and  saints,  the  greatness  of  the  Holy  Family,  let  us 
meditate  on  the  spectacle  of  the  virtues  it  presents 
to  us ; let  us  see,  above  all,  the  piety  and  union  that 
reign  there.  We  have  especial  reason  to  do  so  ; wre, 
above  all,  who,  by  the  grace  of  our  vocation,  are  des- 
tined to  live  in  community,  and  who  recognize  in  the 
Holy  Family  the  perfect  model  of  every  Christian  so- 
ciety, more  particularly,  of  every  religious  community. 

The  Holy  Family  was  the  sanctuary  of  all  virtues, 
each  practiced  in  perfection.  There  all  was  pure,  all 


132 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


was  holy,  all  was  in  order.  The  time  was  divided 
between  labor  and  prayer.  The  silence  was  not  broken 
but  by  heavenly  conversations.  Jesus,  Mary,  and 
Joseph  lived  in  seclusion  from  the  world ; poor  in  the 
riches  of  earth,  but  supporting  privations  with  joy, 
they  had  the  most  pleasing,  the  closest  union  with  each 
other  by  the  bonds  of  the  same  love. 

Ah  ! if  it  could  be  said  of  the  first  faithful  that  they 
had  but  one  heart  and  one  soul,  with  how  much  more 
reason  could  it  be  said  of  the  members  of  the  Holy 
Family ! Their  three  wills,  while  remaining  distinct, 
formed  but  one,  so  great  was  the  conformity  they  had. 
Consequently,  what  peace,  what  concord!  What  at- 
tention, what  consideration,  what  reciprocal  desire  to 
anticipate  each  other’s  wants ! 

But  let  us  not  confine  ourselves  to  admiring  this 
union  ; let  us  reflect  on  what  was  the  source  of  it. 

Let  us  reflect  that  the  august  persons  of  the  Holy 
Family  had  the  strictest  union  among  themselves, 
because  they  esteemed  and  respected  each  other ; be- 
cause they  acted  from  the  same  spirit,  and  for  the  same 
end ; because  they  loved  each  other  with  a true  love, 
and  because  they  were  holy  and  self-sacrificing. 

The  esteem  and  respect  of  people  for  each  other 
establishes  and  maintains  concord;  now  that  esteem 
and  that  respect  were  perfect  between  the  members  of 
the  Holy  Family.  Jesus  honored  Joseph  and  Mary 
more  than  child  ever  honored  father  and  mother ; 
Mary  and  Joseph  adored  Jesus  from  the  depths  of 
their  hearts;  and  Jesus  and  Mary  were  full  of  venera- 
tion for  Joseph,  in  whom  they  recognized  the  authority 
of  God  the  Father. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


133 


Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph  were  perfectly  united — - 
because  they  acted  from  the  impulse  of  the  same 
spirit,  and  with  a view  to  the  same  end.  They  could 
each  of  them  apply  to  himself  the  words  of  the 
prophet  Isaias  : “ The  spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me 
and  add,  “ It  is  through  it  I act ; it  is  by  its  light  I 
walk ; it  is  by  its  inspirations  I determine  my  conduct. 
I propose,  as  an  end  only,  the  accomplishment  of  the 
will  of  the  heavenly  Father  and  the  salvation  of 
souls.”  They  had,  then,  the  same  views ; they  tend- 
ed to  the  same  end,  and  employed  as  much  as  pos- 
sible the  same  means.  They  must,  then,  consequently 
have  had  the  strictest  union  with  each  other. 

Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph  were  perfectly  united,  be- 
cause they  loved  each  other  with  the  purest,  the 
greatest,  the  most  constant,  and  the  most  generous 
love  ; but  they  also  had  an  incentive  to  their  union  in 
their  humility  and  self-sacrifice.  Reason  and  expe- 
rience show  that  those  alone  can  be  truly  united  who 
are  humble,  contemptible  in  their  own  eyes,  and 
without  pretensions;  who  renounce  themselves,  com- 
bat their  self-love,  and  seek  the  general  rather  than 
individual  good ; who  are  always  ready  to  sacrifice 
their  personal  views  in  favor  of  others ; who  embark 
with  readiness  and  joy  in  everything  that  can  give 
pleasure,  or  procure  some  advantage  to  those  with 
whom  they  are  associated.  What,  then,  must  have 
been  the  union  of  the  Holy  Family,  where  each  of  the 
members  that  composed  it  was  as  humble,  as  elevated 
in  dignity,  aspiring  only  to  serve  the  two  others,  and 
to  become  annihilated,  if  we  may  say  so,  the  better  to 
honor  them — making  it  a happiness  to  sacrifice  all  for 


134 


. MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


them,  seeking  only  to  bear  the  sufferings  and  alleviate 
the  labors  of  the  others. 

Behold  what  were  the  principal  sources  of  the 
union  of  the  persons  of  the  earthly  Trinity — an  ad- 
mirable union,  which  we  religious,  above  all,  ought  to 
strive  to  establish  and  maintain  in  our  communities, 
so  that  they  may  be  images  of  the  Holy  Family,  and 
that  Jesus  Christ  may  be  pleased  to  dwell  there,  and 
pour  forth  upon  them  the  abundance  of  his  graces. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  do  all  that  depends  on  us,  that  to  our  com- 
munity may  be  applied  these  words  of  David  : How 
good  and  hoiv  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together 
in  unity.*  For  this  end,  first,  let  us  esteem  and  re- 
spect our  Brothers,  looking  on  them  only  with  the 
eyes  of  faith,  and  manifesting  on  all  occasions  that 
we  honor  God  in  their  person ; second,  let  us  not  act 
but  under  the  impulse  of  the  spirit  of  God,  and 
solely  with  a view  to  the  greatest  good ; third,  let  us 
love  each  other  as  Brothers  ought  to  love,  destined 
to  live  always  together,  and  to  share,  one  day,  the 
same  happiness  near  our  "Venerable  Father;  fourth, 
let  us  be  men  of  humility  and  self-sacrifice ; let  us 
know  how  to  renounce,  for  the  sake  of  union  and 
peace,  all  pretensions  and  all  personal  views. 

Let  us  honor,  and  get  others  to  honor,  the  Holy 
Family.  Let  us  often  present  it  to  the  admiration  of 
our  pupils.  On  our  side,  let  us  invoke  with  piety  the 
sacred  names  of  the  persons  that  compose  it.  Let  us 
say  frequently : “ O holy  names  of  Jesus,  Mary,  and 
Joseph,  be  always  on  my  lips,  and  in  my  heart ! May 

* Ps.  cxxxii.  1. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


135 


you  be  there  engraven  by  a love  most  pure  and  most 
constant.  May  those  sweet  names,  unceasingly  re- 
peated, make,  at  each  aspiration,  the  delight  of  my 
soul.  May  I pronounce  them  with  respect,  love,  and 
confidence  when  I breathe  my  last,  so  that  I may 
praise  them  forever  in  heaven.”* 

PEAYEE. 

Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph,  I give  you  my  heart,  my  soul, 
and  my  life.  Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph,  assist  me  in  my 
last  agony.  Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph,  grant  that  I may 
die  in  your  holy  company. 

RESUME. 

Let  us  often  contemplate  the  Holy  Family.  What  a 
spectacle  it  offers  to  us  ! ... . 

Let  us  recall  to  mind  the  greatness,  the  dignity  of  each 
of  the  three  persons  that  compose  it. . . .and  consequently 
the  excellence  of  the  society  they  form ....  Let  us  remem- 
ber that  the  Holy  Family  was  the  object  of  the  veneration 
of  angels  and  saints. . . . 

Let  us  contemplate  the  union  that  reigns  there .... 

Let  us  think  that  these  three  great  persons  are  so 
united  because  they  esteem  and  respect  each  other .... 
because  they  act  from  the  impulse  of  the  same  spirit, 

which  is  the  Spirit  of  God because  they  love  each 

other,  and  excell  in  humility  and  self-sacrifice 

Let  us  learn  from  this  to  esteem  and  respect  our 
Brothers,  to  love  them,  to  be  truly  humble,  and  always 
anxious  to  do  them  a service.  Oh  what  union  and 
peace  would  then  reign  in  our  communities,  each  of 
which  would  be  an  image  of  the  Holy  Family. 

Fruits. — To  invoke  with  piety  the  holy  names  of  Jesus,  Mary,  and 
Joseph  ; often  to  present  the  Holy  Family  to  the  admiration  of  our 
pupils. 

* R.  P.  Louis,  Devotion  to  St.  Joseph. 


TWENTIETH  MEDITATION. 


THE  EAITH  OF  JOSEPH. 


‘‘  The  just  man  lives  by  faith.” — Heb.  x.  38. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Those  words  of  the  great  Apostle  may  be  applied, 
above  all,  to  Joseph,  who  was  the  justest  of  men. 
Joseph,  in  truth,  lived  by  faith ; it  was  by  faith  he 
thought,  loved,  and  acted ; it  was  by  faith  he  fed  his 
understanding  with  the  great  truths  of  religion,  excited 
in  his  heart  noble  sentiments  corresponding  to  them, 
and  performed  the  holy  actions  by  which  he  made 
himself  so  agreeable  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord. 

Let  us,  to-day,  consider  this  great  servant  of  God 
with  regard  to  the  faith  by  which  he  was  animated ; 
let  us  see  what  were  in  him  the  characters  of  that 
virtue  which  we  ought  to  place  in  the  first  rank — wre, 
above  all,  who  have  the  spirit  of  faith  as  the  spirit  of 
our  Institute. 

St.  Joseph  believed  with  a faith  universal,  simple, 
firm,  practical,  and  consequently  eminently  meritorious 
before  God. 

The  faith  of  Joseph  was,  first,  universal.  He  be- 
lieved all  that  God  has  revealed  by  his  prophets, 
and  awaited  the  coming  of  the  Redeemer  at  tho  time 
they  had  pointed  out ; he  believed  in  the  incarnation 
of  the  Son  of  God,  in  the  establishment  of  his  king- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


137 


clom  in  this  world,  in  the  means  of  sanctification  that 
he  would  procure  for  mankind. 

The  faith  of  Joseph  was,  secondly,  simple,  humble, 
and  docile.  God  does  not  make  known  to  him  with  an 
imposing  display  the  truths  of  which  he  wishes  him  to 
be  the  depository ; he  does  not  speak  to  him  from  the 
midst  of  thunder  and  lightning,  as  to  the  Jewish 
people ; nor  from  the  .midst  of  a burning  bush,  as  to 
Moses ; but  only  by  the  ministry  of  an  angel,  and  even 
that  angel  does  not  put  himself  in  communication 
with  him  when  awake,  as  with  Abraham,  Gedeon, 
and  Zacharias.  He  appears  to  him  in  sleep,  shows 
himself  to  him  in  a dream,  to  instruct  him  in  the 
greatest,  the  most  astonishing  of  mysteries,  to  tell  him 
that  Mary,  his  spouse,  is  the  Mother  of  God ; that  she 
will  give  birth  to  the  Son  of  the  Most  High,  who  comes 
to  save  mankind,  and  to  whom  he  must  give  the  name 
of  Jesus. 

Now  Joseph,  in  that  revelation,  as  in  the  others  with 
which  he  was  favored,  believes  simply  in  what  God 
makes  known  to  him  ; he  does  not  ask  for  an  explana- 
tion ; he  does  not  beg  the  Lord  to  assure  him  by  a 
miracle,  as  Gedeon  did,  that  he  was  not  the  sport  of 
an  illusion.  No,  no;  his  heart  perfectly  docile,  be- 
cause it  is  only  under  the  influence  of  grace,  adheres 
to  all  that  the  angel  revealed  to  him  on  the  part 
of  God. 

The  faith  of  Joseph  was  firm  and  unalterable,  al- 
though it  was  most  severely  tried.  And  here  we  find 
the  most  distinguishing  character  of  that  virtue  in  our 
holy  patron.  He  believed,  on  the  word  of  the  angel, 
in  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  though  a multitude  of 


138 


MEPITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


contradictory  arguments  presented  themselves  to  shake 
his  faith. 

How,  in  truth,  could  he  believe  that  the  Child 
whom  he  saw  born  in  a stable,  whose  cries  he  heard, 
and  whose  tears  he  saw  flow,  was  the  eternal  God  ? 
How  could  he  believe  that  he  was  all-powerful,  wTho 
showed  himself  to  him  as  weakness  itself?  How 
could  he  believe  that  He  was  the  Master  of  all  that 
happened,  and  directed  at  his  pleasure  intellects  and 
hearts  whom  he  was  obliged  to  carry  into  a distant 
country  to  withdraw  him  from  a tyrant  who  wished  to 
put  him  to  death?  How  could  he  believe  that  the 
Holy  of  Holies  wrould  appear  with  the  outward  marks 
of  sin ; that  the  Messiah  promised  to  the  world,  and 
expected  from  the  commencement  by  so  many  nations, 
would  be  only  a poor  mechanic,  working  with  him, 
gaining  each  day  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  ? 
And  yet  St.  Joseph  believed  it.  His  faith  was  not 
shaken  by  these  seeming  contradictions,  that  must 
have  presented  themselves  to  his  mind. 

He  does  not  understand  how  infinite  greatness  can 
be  allied  with  such  nothingness,  yet  he  never  doubts 
for  a single  instant  that  Jesus  is  that  infinite  great- 
ness. He  adores  in  Him  the  divine  Word,  the  eternal 
Wisdom  clothed  with  human  nature  to  save  mankind. 

The  faith  of  St.  Joseph  was,  then,  firm  and  unalter- 
able, although  severely  tried.  Let  us  add  that  it  was 
a practical  faith,  leading  him  to  act  in  all  circum- 
stances in  conformity  with  what  he  believed. 

Joseph  believed,  and  consequently  he  constantly 
studied  to  nourish  his  soul  with  revealed  truths ; he 
made  them  the  sweetest  study  of  his  mind,  and  en- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


139 


graved  them  deeply  on  liis  heart ; he  testified  his  con- 
victions by  his  sentiments  and  his  actions ; he  always 
desired,  and,  when  he  could,  fulfilled  the  good  that 
faith  pointed  out  to  him. 

If,  as  St.  Paul  teaches,  it  was  by  faith  that  Noah 
built  the  ark,  that  Abraham  was  ready  to  sacrifice 
Isaac,  that  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  fulfilled  their 
mission  and  gave  glory  to  God : it  was  also  by  faith 
that  Joseph  made  himself  pleasing  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord,  and  concurred  in  the  great  work  of  the  re- 
demption of  the  world. 

By  faith  he  understood  to  what  a degree  of  per- 
fection God  called  him,  and  to  correspond  to  his 
vocation,  he  sacrificed  his  own  will,  surmounted  the 
repugnances  of  nature,  embraced  a poor,  painful,  and 
laborious  life,  and  practiced  in  an  eminent  degree  the 
most  excellent  virtues. 

By  faith  he  adores  God  in  Jesus,  and  honors  the 
Mother  of  God  in  the  most  holy  Virgin. 

By  faith  he  acts  as  the  most  loving  of  fathers  to  the 
divine  Infant,  and,  like  the  best  of  husbands,  to  his 
most  holy  Mother. 

By  faith  he  executes  punctually  all  that  is  com- 
manded him.  He  sets  out  in  all  haste  for  Egypt ; he 
remains  there  all  the  time  that  God  wishes ; he  leaves 
it  to  return  to  his  own  country ; he  devotes  himself  to 
the  most  severe  labors ; he  exhausts  himself  in  taking 
care  of  the  Child  God  and  his  Virgin  Mother. 

What  merits  must  he  have  acquired  by  that  virtue 
carried  to  such  perfection! . . . .Ah!  let  us  give  glory  to 
that  great  servant  of  God  who  had  always  a faith  so 
universal,  so  simple,  so  enlightened,  so  firm,  so  con- 


140 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


stant,  and,  above  all,  so  fruitful  in  good  works.  But  let 
us  remember  that  tlie  true  means  of  honoring  him  for 
the  faith  we  admire  in  him,  is  to  do  all  in  our  power 
that  ours  may  have  exactly  the  same  characters. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  examine  ourselves  in  comparison  with  the 
model  we  have  been  contemplating,  and  see  if  we 
resemble  him.  Christians  should  do  so,  who  make 
profession  of  believing  in  J esus  Christ  and  all  that  he 
has  taught,  we  religious  who  tend  to  the  perfection  of 
Christianity,  we,  especially,  Brothers  of  the  Christian 
Schools,  who  have  the  spirit  of  faith  as  the*  spirit  of 
our  Institute.  Yes,  we  ought  to  have  a faith  simple, 
entire,  sincere,  firm,  and  unalterable ; a lively  and 
eminently  practical  faith. 

Has  our  faith  these  characters  ? Do  we  adhere  with 
simplicity  to  the  teachings  of  the  Church?  Do  we 
study  to  see  in  everything  only  the  supernatural  side  ? 
Do  we  see  God  in  small  things  as  well  as  in  great — in 
what  appears  to  us  obscure  as  well  as  in  what  we  com- 
prehend— in  what  contradicts  us  as  well  as  in  what  is 
conformable  to  our  inclinations  ? 

In  fine,  is  our  faith  practical  ? What  effects  does  it 
produce  in  our  souls  and  our  hearts?  Do  w^e  endeavor 
to  occupy  our  understanding  with  holy  thoughts,  and 
to  cherish  in  ourselves  religious  sentiments  ? Do  our 
actions  show  what  we  profess  to  believe,  and  are  they 
always  in  accord  with  our  religious  principles  ? Alas ! 
nave  we  not  cause  to  fear,  that  we  may  be  reproached 
with  believing  one  way  and  acting  another?  Let  us 
make  haste,  then,  to  amend  our  conduct,  and  strive  to 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


141 


give  to  our  faith  the  qualities  we  have  admired  in  that 
of  St.  Joseph. 

PEAYEE. 

Great  St.  Joseph,  who  have  so  much  glorified  God 
by  your  faith,  obtain  for  me  and  my  Brothers  the 
grace  of  imitating  you  in  the  practice  of  that  virtue, 
so  that  by  it  we  may  offer  worthy  homage  to  Jesus 
Christ.  Conduct  ourselves  with  courage,  constancy, 
and  piety  in  the  discharge  of  all  our  duties,  and  thus 
become  worthy  to  share  in  the  blessings  with  which 
God  recompenses  in  heaven  your  faith  so  humble,  so 
constant,  so  fruitful  in  good  works. 

R&SUM&. 

It  is,  above  all,  of  St.  Joseph  these  words  may  be  said  : 
The  just  man  lives  by  faith . Joseph  had  : IsA  An  entire, 
universal  faith  extending  to  all  that  God  had  made  known 
to  him .... 

2d.  A simple  faith ; he  believes  with  heart  and  soul 
in  what  is  revealed  to  him;  he  puts  no  questions,  he 
requires  no  miracles .... 

3 d.  A firm  and  unalterable  faith,  although  severely 
tried 

4 th.  A practical  faith  ; giving  to  his  thoughts  and  sen- 
timents a religious  character,  and  producing  acts  of  the 
most  sublime  virtues. 

Let  us  examine  if  our  faith  has  the  same  characters ; if 
it  is  not  so,  let  us  reform  our  conduct,  and  begin  by 
asking  grace  to  do  so  through  the  intercession . of  St. 
Joseph. 

Fruits. — To  instruct  ourselves  well  in  the  truths  of  faith  and  the 
maxims  of  the  holy  Scripture  ; to  look  at  everything  from  a super- 
natural point  of  view ; to  watch  that  our  actions  are  made  conformable 
to  our  principles. 


TWENTY-FIRST  MEDITATION. 


HOPE  OE  ST.  JOSEPH. 


1 ‘ Blessed  be  the  man  that  trusteth  in  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  shall  be 
his  confidence.7' — Jerem.  xvii.  7. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Hope  in  God  seems  to  be,  of  all  sentiments,  the  one 
which  is  most  pleasing  to  that  sovereign  Master,  for  it 
is  the  homage  addressed  most  directly  to  his  goodness. 
Therefore  it  forms  an  essential  part  of  the  worship  we 
owe  him,  and  has  been  the  virtue  of  all  true  adorers. 
Abraham  hoped  against  all  hope.  Job,  in  the  midst 
of  his  numberless  sufferings,  gives  expression  to  these 
words  of  sublime  confidence : Although  he  should  hill 
me , I will  trust  in  him.*  Mathathias  inspires  the  same 
sentiment  in  his  sons  : “ Put  your  confidence  in  the 
Lord,”  says  he,  “ and  you  w7ill  triumph  over  all  your 
enemies.” 

But  if  all  the  just  have  glorified  the  divine  good- 
ness by  hope,  St.  Joseph  has  done  it  in  an  excellent 
manner,  since  he  was  eminently  just.  Let  us  this 
day,  then,  consider  our  glorious  patron  under  that 
point  'of  view,  and  let  us  reflect  on  the  object,  the 
motives,  and  the  qualities  of  his  hope. 

St.  Joseph  did  not  hope  for  advantages  here  below. 
He  understood  too  well  the  vanity  of  all  this  is  tran- 
% Job  xiii.  15. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


143 


sitorj.  That  which  he  desired,  and  expected  with 
confidence,  was  the  protection  of  God ; his  blessing 
and  his  grace,  the  good  things  of  eternity,  and  the 
crown  that  never  fades.  St.  Joseph  hoped  for  the 
redemption  promised  to  our  first  parents.  He  always 
had  the  certainty  in  his  soul,  that  the  great  day  of  the 
coming  of  the  Saviour  would  arise  upon  the  world  at 
the  time  foretold  by  the  prophets.  When  he  saw  that 
day  so  longed  for,  his  hope  only  increased ; he  had 
the  confidence  that  the  Church,  the  new  Jerusalem, 
would  soon  gather  all  nations  within  its  fold,  that  the 
Kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  would  be  established  every- 
where throughout  the  earth,  and  last  till  the  end  of 
the  world.  The  angel,  in  revealing  the  mystery  of 
the  Incarnation,  had  said  to  him : Thou  shall  call  his 
name  Jesus , for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins* 
Joseph  is  certain  that  this  deliverance  shall  be 
wrought,  and  that  thus,  through  Jesus,  the  first  sin 
shall  be  atoned  for,  and  innocence  restored  to  men. 

Behold  what  was  the  object  of  the  hope  of  St. 
Joseph.  Now  let  us  consider  what  were  in  him  the 
motives  for  that  virtue. 

Joseph  hoped,  because  he  had  great  faith  in  the 
veracity  of  God.  He  knew  the  divine  promises,  and 
he  knew  that  our  Lord  fulfilled  all  that  he  promised  ; 
his  faith  suggested  to  him  in  advance  these  words  of 
Jesus  Christ : Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away , hut 
my  words  shall  not  pass  away.\  He  hoped,  because 
he  believed  in  the  goodness  and  the  power  of  God. 
Ah ! he  entered  far  into  the  heart  of  his  divine  Master, 
he  who  was  the  most  faithful  of  his  servants,  and  he 
* St.  Matt.  i.  21.  f St.  Mark  xiii.  31. 


144 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


saw  that  the  sentiment  that  predominated  there  was 
goodness  and  mercy.  It  was  on  that  account  he 
found  room  in  his  heart  for  the  sweetest  confidence. 

St.  Joseph  had  also,  as  a motive  for  his  hope,  the 
protection  of  Mary,  the  prayers  of  that  spotless  Virgin, 
who  has  justly  been  called  omnipotent  in  intercession, 
and  to  whom  God  can  refuse  nothing.  Still  the 
greatest  motives  for  the  hope  of  St.  Joseph  was  always 
Jesus  himself. 

Ah ! could  he  but  have  unlimited  confidence,  he 
who  held  in  his  arms  the  Mediator  of  heaven  and 
earth?  How  could  he  doubt  in  the  succor  of  God, 
he  who,  while  praying,  offered  to  Him  his  adorable 
Son  as  a suppliant  Victim?  The  Israelites  were 
filled  with  confidence  when  they  had  the  ark  ol  the 
Lord  with  them.  How  much  more  Joseph,  who  car- 
ried in  his  arms  the  Lord  himself. 

Such  are  the  principal  motives  for  the  virtue  of  hope 
in  St.  Joseph;  but  let  us  consider,  moreover,  what 
were  its  qualities. 

The  hope  of  St.  Joseph  was  constant  and  entire, 
firm,  prudent,  and  efficacious.  At  every  instant  of  his 
life  he  could  say  to  God : “ O Lord,  I have  hoped  in 
you  from  my  tenderest  youth  ; I hope  in  you  at  this 
very  moment ; and  when  the  hour  of  my  death  shall 
come,  I will  sleep  in  hope.”  Yes,  he  hoped  during 
the  whole  of  his  life,  as  well  as  in  every  circumstance 
of  it.  Let  us  remember  his  journey  from  Nazareth  to 
Bethlehem,  and,  above  all,  his  flight  into  Egypt.  He 
is  not  troubled  ; he  does  not  give  way  to  disquietude ; 
he  conceives  neither  sadness  nor  apprehension,  al- 
though he  has  so  many  apparent  reasons  for  doing 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


145 


so  ; lie  knows  that  he  is  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  he 
has  confidence  in  his  paternal  goodness.  Let  us  re- 
mark, above  all,  that  he  never  lost  courage.  He  knew 
too  well  that  such  faint-heartedness  outrages  God  in  a 
manner  most  sensible  to  his  tender  heart ; for  it  is,  as 
it  were,  a declaration  that  one  believes  no  longer  in 
his  goodness,  or  cares  for  his  providence. 

The  confidence  of  St.  Joseph  did  not  fail  to  be  most 
severely  tried.  Let  us  judge  of  this  by  the  refusals 
he  experiences  with  Mary  at  Bethlehem  ; but  let  us 
observe  that  he  never  lost  strength,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, grew  stronger  by  the  trial. 

Still,  let  us  not  imagine  that  the  confidence  of  St. 
Joseph  was  such  that  he  did  nothing  on  his  part  to 
secure  the  success  of  the  designs  of  God.  There  was 
in  him  no  disquietude ; but,  at  the  same  time,  there 
was  no  indifference.  Joseph  trusted  in  God ; but  he 
worked  with  all  his  strength  to  conform  to  his  will. 
His  hope  was,  therefore,  in  accord  with  the  rules  of 
wisdom,  and  in  no  way  resembled  the  presumption 
that  counts  upon  Providence  doing  its  part  without 
our  doing,  on  our  side,  what  it  is  in  our  power  to  effect. 

Let  us  consider,  finally,  the  effects  of  this  virtue  on 
St.  Joseph.  By  the  very  fact  of  his  having  a perfect 
confidence,  he  finds  no  difficulty  in  what  God  com- 
mands him.  He  pays  homage  to  the  divine  goodness, 
and  is  sure  of  his  protection.  He  fortifies  himself 
against  adversity,  which  he  endures  by  resting  on  God 
himself.  By  anticipation,  he  enjoys,  to  a certain  ex- 
tent the  things  that  he  hopes  for,  and  is  happy  in 
what  he  has  not,  yet  as  if  he  already  possessed  it.  By 
his  confidence  he  settles  himself  in  a great  peace  no 


146 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


less  sweet  to  liis  heart  than  agreeable  to  God,  whose 
providence  he  honors.  Finally,  he  acquires  number- 
less merits  for  heaven,  where  the  sovereign  Master 
finds  a happiness  in  giving  his  elects  the  good  things 
they  hoped  for. 


APPLICATION. 

Let  us  strive  to  be,  in  reference  to  hope,  the  worthy 
imitators  of  our  glorious  patron.  Let  us  banish  from 
our  hearts  all  uneasiness.  Let  us  think  only  on  doing 
the  work  of  God,  and  we  may  be  sure  that  God  will 
do  our  work.  Above  all,  let  us  never  give  way  to 
discouragement.  Is  not  God  our  Father  almighty  and 
always  full  of  goodness  for  us  ? Until  now,  his  pro- 
vidence has  never  failed  us.  Why,  then,  should  we 
suppose  that  it  will  be  less  favorable  to  us  in  future  ? 
Moreover,  are  we  not,  like  St.  Joseph,  sure  of  being  able 
to  obtain  all  we  w^ant  through  Jesus,  our  Mediator,  and 
through  the  intercession  of  Mary,  our  good  Mother  ? 

Let  us  pray  and  wTork,  and  excite  in  ourselves  a 
great  confidence,  which,  while  it  will  lead  us  to  do  gen- 
erously, on  our  part,  all  that  is  in  our  power,  will  set- 
tle us  in  interior  peace,  by  the  conviction  that  God  will 
bless  our  efforts,  and  secure  the  success  of  our  labors. 

Oh!  how  advantageous  such  a confidence  should  be 
to  us ! What  courage  for  the  practice  of  virtue  it 
should  excite  in  our  souls!  What  merits  in  conse- 
quence should  we  acquire,  and  what  homage  should  we 
render  to  Providence ! Therefore,  God  would  recom- 
pense us  by  peace  of  heart  in  this  life,  and  by  an 
increase  to  that  happiness  without  end  in  the  next, 
which  alone  can  satisfy  the  aspirations  of  the  heart. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


147 


PRAYER. 

Hail,  O Joseph,  model  of  holy  hope ! I bless  you 
for  your  confidence  in  God,  by  which  you  have  so 
worthily  honored  his  goodness  towards  men.  Deign, 
O loving  Father,  to  obtain  for  me  a participation  in 
the  same  sentiments.  Grant  that  I may  act  from  the 
intimate  conviction  that  I can  do  all  through  Jesus, 
and  through  Mary’s  influence  and  yours  with  Jesus,  so 
that,  filled  with  confidence,  I may  labor  with  courage 
in  the  work  of  God,  and  may  merit  the  crown  the  final 
object  of  that  very  hope  I solicit  through  your  inter- 
cession. 

rEsumE. 

Confidence  in  God  is  very  agreeable  to  him,  because  it 
is  a worthy  homage  to  his  goodness  towards  us. 

All  the  saints  have  excelled  in  that  confidence.  St. 
Joseph  is  in  the  foremost  rank  among  them. 

He  expected  with  confidence  the  coming  of  the  Messiah 
the  graces  that  were  accessory  for  all  the  circum- 
stances in  which  it  pleased  God  to  place  him .... 

His  hopes  had,  as  a motive,  his  faith  in  the  goodness 
and  power  of  God ....  it  rested  also  on  his  relations  with 
Mary,  but  still  more  on  those  he  had  with  Jesus,  the  Medi- 
ator between  heaven  and  earth .... 

His  confidence  was  entire, ....  universal, ....  firm  and 
unalterable, . . . .wise  and  prudent. . , . 

His  confidence  was  exceedingly  advantageous  to  him,  for 

it  procured  a sweet  peace it  drew  to  him  great  graces, 

and  excited  great  courage  in  his  heart  to  practice  virtue. 

Let  us  examine  if  our  confidence  in  the  divine  goodness 
has  the  same  character  as  the  hope  we  have  meditated 
upon  in  our  glorious  patron .... 

Fruits. — To  multiply  our  acts  of  hope ; to  combat  every  trouble, 
every  disquietude  ; never  to  be  disheartened,  for  want  of  courage  direct- 
ly outrages  the  heart  of  God. 


TWENTY-SECOND  'MEDITATION. 

CHARITY  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“Thou  knowest  that  I love  thee.” — St.  John  xxi.  17. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Jesus  Christ,  wlien  calling  St.  Peter  to  a great 
mission,  said  to  him  thrice,  Lovest  thou  me  ? and 
when  the  Apostle  had  thrice  answered  him,  “I  love 
you,”  he  entrusted  to  him  the  care  of  his  whole 
Church.  That  divine  Master  thus  teaches  us  that 
those  alone  are  fit  for  great  things  who  have  great 
love  in  their  hearts,  and  that  God  does  not  confide 
what  is  dear  to  him  but  to  such  souls  as  are  in- 
flamed with  the  fire  of  charity.  Yfe  can,  then,  from 
that  sole  consideration,  conclude  that  St.  Joseph  had 
a perfect  love  for  God,  since,  after  Mary,  no  one  was 
called  to  greater  things,  received  a more  important 
mission,  or  had  the  care  of  persons  as  dear  to  the 
heart  of  God. 

Let  us,  then,  to-day,  consider  him  as  a model  of 
divine  love.  Let  us  reflect  that,  essentially,  he  loved 
only,  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  Son;  that  he 
loved  him  with  all  his  heart,  with  all  his  soul,  with  all 
his  strength ; that  thus  he  was  always  animated  by 
perfect  charity. 

But  let  us  consider  the  charity  of  St.  Joseph  in  its 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


149 


source,  so  as  to  enlighten  us  on  wliat  we  ought  to  do 
to  love  God  as  he  loved  him. 

St.  Joseph  excelled  in  love  for  God,  because  he  re- 
ceived great  graces,  to  which  he  wras  always  faithful ; 
because,  full  of  good  will,  he  made  it  his  whole  study 
to  make  himself  docile  to  the  suggestions  of  the  Spirit 
of  Love  dwelling  in  his  heart;  because,  with  all  the 
force  of  his  soul,  he  strove  to  fulfil  the  greatest  of  the 
precepts  : Thou  shcdt  love  tlw  Lord  thy  God . 

St.  Joseph  excelled  in  love  for  God,  because  his 
heart,  so  wTell  disposed,  had  the  closest  union  with  that 
of  Mary.  How  could  he  but  have  been  inflamed 
with  the  fire  of  divine  love,  since  his  heart  was  thirty 
years  in  communication  with  that  of  the  Queen  of  the 
Seraphim,  the  Mother  of  pure  love,  the  Virgin  who  alone 
loved  God  more  than  all  the  angels  and  saints  together? 

But  the  principal  source  of  divine  love  in  St.  Joseph 
was  his  relation  with  the  Child  God.  When  we  re- 
member that  he  wras  his  nursing  father  and  protector  ; 
when  we  remember  that  he  so  many  times  contem- 
plated those  divine  hands  that  were  afterwards  to 
work  so  many  miracles ; that  divine  mouth  smiling  on 
him  with  love,  from  which  were  afterwards  to  come 
all  the  teachings  of  the  law  of  love ; those  divine  eyes, 
from  which  sparkled  a soul  on  fire  with  love  ; when 
we  think  of  Joseph  holding  in  his  arms  the  divine 
Child,  and  kissing  him  with  a tenderness  that  was 
only  equalled  by  his  respect;  when  we  contemplate 
him  having  his  heart  placed  so  near  that  of  Jesus, 
and  feeling  on  his  breast  the  beatings  of  the  heart  of 
Jesus ; — ah  ! then  we  can  understand  how  no  one,  next 
to  Mary,  had  so  much  love  for  God ! 


150 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


O Joseph,  how  happy  you  are  to  be  favored  by  so 
many  graces,  and  still  more  in  having  so  faithfully 
corresponded  to  them  ! How  happy  you  are  in  having 
been  in  such  relations  with  J esus  and  Mary  ! Your 
humble  abode  at  Nazareth  was  the  home  of  charity. 
Image  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem ! nothing  was  there 
heard  but  hymns  of  pure  love,  and  the  only  study  was 
to  increase  in  love. 

But  let  us  not  limit  ourselves  to  reflections  on  the 
object  and  sources  of  divine  love  in  St.  Joseph.  Let 
us  consider  also  its  principal  qualities. 

The  love  with  which  St.  Joseph  was  inflamed  for 
God  was  a generous  love,  inclining  him  to  a perfect 
devotedness  to  his  service,  making  him  perform  with 
joy  very  many  and  very  great  sacrifices.  It  was  an 
invincible  love,  not  to  be  checked  or  surmounted  by 
anything ; it  was  a noble  love,  preserving  no  attach- 
ment for  the  pleasures,  honors,  or  riches  of  this  vrorld. 
The  heart  of  Joseph  loved  creatures,  not  for  th$i'r 
own  sake,  but  for  God’s.  It  did  not  love  them  but  in 
as  much  as  they  could  unite  him  more  closely  to  the 
sovereign  good. 

Under  the  influence  of  that  sentiment,  Joseph 
thought  habitually  on  God,  whom  he  loved.  His 
mind,  in  accord  with  his  heart,  did  not  turn  aside 
from  Him  who  deserves  to  occupy  all  our  thoughts. 
His  love  for  God  alone  ruled  his  desires  and  his  con- 
duct. If  he  prayed,  if  he  spoke,  if  he  worked,  it  wras 
from  love,  and  to  acquire  more  love.  As  David  said, 
“ I have  believed,  therefore  I have  spoken,”  Joseph 
might  say,  “ I have  loved  God,  and  for  that  I have 
thought,  wished,  and  acted.” 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


151 


It  could  not  but  be  so.  Ho  whom  God  judged 
worthy  to  be  the  spouse  of  Mary;  he  to  whom  he 
confided  the  person  of  his  adorable  Son,  the  sole  ob- 
ject of  his  delight, — must  have  had  the  fulness  of 
divine  love. 

Joseph  was  an  angelic  being  that  burned  with  love 
in  the  presence  of  God.  Not  only  was  the  fire  of 
charity  never  quenched  in  his  soul  by  sin,  but  it  did 
not  experience  the  least  diminution  or  alteration. 
Joseph  always  loved  God  with  all  his  capacity  for 
loving,  and  constantly  strove  to  love  him  more. 

His  love  did  nothing  but  increase ; for  it  was  fed 
not  only  by  spiritual  consolations,  but  even  by  con- 
tradictions and  trials.  It  attained  its  perfection  in 
that  hour  of  happiness  when  the  seraphic  being  left 
this  w^orld  to  go  to  the  next,  to  be  placed  in  the  fore- 
most rank  of  the  heavenly  seraphim. 

APPLICATION. 

After  having  considered  the  love  with  which  the 
heart  of  Joseph  was  animated,  let  us  enter  into  our- 
selves, and  see  how  we  stand  in  that  regard. 

Do  we  truly  love  Jesus  Christ  ? Is  it  he  who  alone 
is  the  first  and  essential  object  of  our  affections? 
We  often  say,  “ O Lord,  I love  you,”  but  is  it  not  a 
simple  form,  answering  to  nothing  real,  and  which  w^e 
repeat  rather  from  habit  than  because  it  expresses  the 
real  state  of  our  souls  ? 

Also,  perhaps  our  conscience  answers  us  that  our 
heart,  instead  of  rising  to  heaven,  often  turns  its  affec- 
tions towards  earth.  All ! if  it  is  so,  let  us  hasten  to 
break  our  chains.  God  offers  us  the  grace  to  do  so 


152 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Let  us  correspond  to  it,  so  that  there  may  be  in  our 
hearts  only  a pure  love,  which  may  be  like  Joseph’s — 
noble,  ardent,  generous,  meritorious  in  the  eyes  of 
the  God  of  love,  to  whom  we  have  devoted  Our- 
selves. 

Yes,  such  is  the  love  that  ought  to  exist  in  us. 
Why  should  we  not  aspire  to  possess  it  ? Can  we  not 
draw  it  from  the  same  sources  as  St.  Joseph ; that  is 
to  say,  from  the  most  pure  heart  of  Mary,  and  still 
more  from  the  sacred  heart  of  Jesus?  Are  we  not 
called  to  contemplate  by  meditation  the  Infant  God 
working  the  mysteries  of  his  love  ? Do  we  not  speak 
to  that  sweet  Saviour  when  we  pray  to  him  ? Above 
all,  are  we  not  under  the  influence  of  his  soul  when  we 
possess  him  in  the  holy  Communion  ? 

Ah  ! is  it  not  the  most  astonishing  of  mysteries  that 
our  heart  is  so  often  united  to  the  heart  of  Jesus, 
and  that  it  does  not  participate  more  in  the  divine 
flames  of  his  love?  Let  us  see  if  the  cause  of  it  is 
not  in  ourselves. 

Let  us  do,  then,  all  that  is  in  our  power,  that  our 
communions  may.  be  fervent.  How  many  fruits  we 
could  draw  therefrom,  since  we  should  then  increase 
greatly  in  love,  and  consequently  make  rapid  progress 
in  the  path  of  perfection ! 

PEAYEE. 

0 Joseph,  who  have  so  loved  God  and  his  adorable 
Son,  how  I desire  to  have  the  same  love  in  my  heart 
as  in  yours  ! Deign,  then,  I beseech  you,  to  present 
my  prayer  to  my  adorable  Saviour,  and  obtain  for  me 
that  the  flames  of  divine  charity  may  be  kindled  in 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


153 


my  soul,  so  tliat  I may  act  in  all  things  from  love  for 
God,  and  thus  may  be  made  worthy,  one  day,  to  pos- 
sess, with  you,  the  God  of  love. 

RESUME. 

Joseph  could  say  with  still  more  reason  than  St.  Peter, 

O Lord,  I love  thee.” 

The  principal  sources  of  that  love  were  : first,  the 
grace  that  was  so  abundant  in  him,  and  to  which  he  al- 
ways corresponded  most  faithfully;  second,  his  relations 
with  the  most  holy  Virgin,  which  must  necessarily  have 
led  him  to  love  God,  as  she  loved  that  sovereign  being; 
third,  his  relations  with  Jesus.  Ah!  how  could  that 
heart,  that  felt  the  beatings  of  the  heart  of  Jesus,  be 
other  than  consumed  by  the  fires  of  divine  love ! . . . . 

The  love  with  which  St.  Joseph  was  inflamed  was 
generous ....  invincible noble effective produc- 

ing in  him  detachment  from  creatures,  leading  him  not 
to  think,  wish,  or  act  in  anything  but  with  a view  to 
God. 

Far  from  diminishing,  that  love  grew  daily  more  and 
more,  until  the  moment  when  that  seraphic  being 
was  transferred  to  the  first  rank  of  the  seraphim  in 
heaven. 

Let  us  ask  oufselves  if  we  participate  in  the  divine 
love  with  which  St.  Joseph  was  inflamed.  Let  us  re- 
member that  we  can  draw  it  at  the  same  sources,  since 
God  gives  us  his  grace  in  superabundance;  since  we  can 
place  ourselves  in  intimate  relations  with  Mary;  since, 
above  all,  we  have  communion  in  such  excellent  ways  with 
J esus  Christ  himself. 

Fuuits. — Let  us  often  ask  the  grace  of  pure  love.  Let  us  love  holy 
communion,  and  prepare  ourselves  well  for  it. 


TWENTY-THIRD  MEDITATION. 


DEVOTEDNESS  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ 0 Lord,  I am  thy  servant,  and  the  son  of  thy  handmaid.” 

Ps.  cxv.  16. 


CONSIDERATION. 

All  the  true  servants  of  God  have  been  men  of 
self-sacrifice,  for  they  all  devoted  themselves  without 
reserve  to  the  work  that  Providence  had  committed  to 
them ; but  here  our  glorious  patron  deserves  to  be 
placed  in  the  first  rank,  for  his  devotedness  was  by 
excellence  pure  and  holy  in  its  source,  great  and  ad- 
mirable in  its  effects. 

The  devotedness  of  St.  Joseph  was  pure  and  holy  in 
its  source  ; for  it  had  as  motives  the  noble  sentiments 
of  his  soul,  his  fidelity  to  grace,  the  constant  sight  of 
the  devotedness  of  Mary,  and,  above  all,  of  the  humilia- 
tions of  the  Word  made  flesh. 

Joseph  was  a man  of  self-sacrifice,  because  he  had 
a noble  and  generous  heart.  Gifted  from  his  ten- 
derest  infancy,  and  with  a view  to  his  destiny,  with 
the  most  happy  natural  qualities,  he  felt  himself  im- 
pelled, as  it  were,  to  sacrifice  for  God  all  that  he  was 
master  of.  He  never  knew  the  cold  calculations  of 
egotism  or  self-love  that  paralyze  the  soul,  that  re- 
tard all  the  noble  aspirations  of  the  heart,  that  crush 
out  every  earnest  wish  for  what  seems  even  most 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


155 


desirable..  He  never  knew  those  constant  references 
to  self  that  leave  no  liberty  of  action  but  when  some 
personal  advantages  can  be  drawn  therefrom.  He 
had  always  in  his  soul  the  noble  ambition  to  do  good, 
whatever  sacrifices  it  might  cost  him. 

Joseph  was  a man  of  devotedness  through  justice 
and  gratitude.  He  understood  that  man,  having  re- 
ceived all  from  God,  ought  to  give  all  to  God,  to  do 
all  that  God  requires  of  him,  and  that  solely  from 
supernatural  views. 

Joseph  was  a man  of  devotedness,  because  he  was 
faithful  to  grace.  Souls  docile  to  the  inspirations  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  are  ever  ready  with  the  greatest 
generosity  to  do  the  good  for  which  Providence  gives 
them  the  opportunity.  Now  the  soul  of  Joseph  pos- 
sessed always  that  docility  in  the  highest  degree.  He 
was,  therefore,  eminently  full  of  generosity,  as,  indeed, 
the  ministry  of  sacrifice  and  self-denial,  to  which  he 
was  destined,  required. 

Joseph  was  a man  of  devotedness,  because  he  par- 
ticipated in  the  interior  dispositions  of  the  most  holy 
Virgin.  He  knew  the  generosity  with  which  Mary 
devoted  herself  to  virtue,  and  with  what  just  title  she 
could  style  herself  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord . He  saw 
her  disposed  to  suffer  all  for  the  glory  of  God,  and 
the  salvation  of  man ; and  from  the  time  of  the  pro- 
phecy of  the  aged  Simeon,  he  knew  that  she  would, 
one  day,  carry  her  spirit  of  sacrifice  so  far  as  to  con- 
sent to  the  death  of  Jesus  himself  for  the  salvation  of 
the  world.  His  relations  with  Mary  must  then  have 
had  the  effect  of  leading  him  to  devote  himself,  with- 
out reserve  for  the  same  end,  for  nothing  more  in- 


156 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


spires  generosity  than  to  see  it  practiced  by  those  we 
love. 

Joseph  was  a man  of  devotedness,  above  all,  be- 
cause he  was  the  faithful  imitator  of  Jesus.  Ah  ! how  , 
much  he  must  have  longed  to  sacrifice  himself  for 
God  when  he  saw  how  far  the  divine  Word  sacrificed 
himself  for  man — when  he  looked  upon  the  Almighty 
become  weakness  itself,  the  Eternal  become  a mortal 
man,  the  increased  Wisdom  entrusting  himself  to  his 
prudence  and  paternal  care  ! Yes,  he  must  have  felt 
a kind  of  constraint  to  devote  himself  with  Jesus  and 
for  Jesus,  and  that,  more  than  all,  when,  by  the  light 
of  prophecy,  he  foresaw  the  sacrifice  of  Calvary — the 
bloody  sacrifice  by  which  the  divine  Redeemer  was  to 
reconcile  earth  to  heaven ! 

Let  us  remember  the  love  of  Joseph  for  Jesus — a 
love  which  had  its  source  in  the  love  of  the  heavenly 
Father  for  the  eternal  Word,  and  which  consequently 
was  in  him  all  but  unlimited.  Let  us  bear  in  mind 
that  he  who  loves  desires  nothing  so  much  as  to  be 
made  conformable  to  the  person  beloved,  and  we  shall 
understand  how  far  Joseph  must  have  been  a man  of 
devotedness. 

But  let  us  not  consider  the  devotedness  of  St. 
Joseph  merely  in  its  source ; let  us  look  at  it  also  in 
itself  and  its  consequences. 

Joseph  devoted  himself  for  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  salvation  of  men  ; he  devoted  himself  for  the  pro- 
tection of  Mary,  for  the  preservation  and  education  of 
the  Child  Jesus — that  is  to  say,  for  the  highest,  the 
most  excellent,  the  most  noble  objects  that  it  is  even 
possible  to  conceive.  Looked  at  in  its  end,  the  de- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


157 


votedness  of  St.  Joseph  is  consequently  sublime.  It 
is  equally  so  when  seen  in  its  character  of  univer- 
sality ; for  it  extended  to  all  his  life,  and  to  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  it. 

From  the  first  dawning  of  reason,  St.  Joseph  said : 
“ I am  your  servant,  O my  God,  and  ready  to  execute 
your  will  in  all  things.”  He  kept  himself  in  those 
dispositions,  or,  rather,  he  constantly  made  them  more 
perfect ; for  the  more  he  advanced  in  life,  the  more 
motives  he  had  to  devote  himself  to  the  work  of 
God.  Does  not  everything  speak  to  us  of  his  devoted- 
ness? Remember  Nazareth,  Bethlehem,  Jerusalem, 
Egypt ; do  we  not  everywhere  see  him  sacrificing  him- 
self for  Jesus  and  Mary,  without  any  interested  regard 
for  himself  ? 

His  devotedness  was  greatly  tried.  All  the  life  of 
St.  Joseph  is,  in  truth,  but  a series  of  tribulations,  of 
sufferings  of  every  kind,  and  appears  but  as  a long 
track  covered  with  obstructions  everywhere.  But  that 
great  servant  of  God  remains  always  the  same,  never 
suffering  a shadow  of  discouragement  to  enter  his 
heart.  His  devotedness  wras,  therefore,  sincere,  and 
manifested  a truly  generous  soul. 

Let  us  add,  finally,  that  the  mission  of  Joseph,  being 
hidden  from  the  eyes  of  men,  had  nothing  encouraging 
from  a natural  point  of  view ; that  he  did  not  main- 
tain himself  in  his  dispositions  to  sacrifice  all  for  God, 
but  from  viewrs  of  faith  ; that  thus,  under  every  aspect, 
his  devotedness  is  sublime,  worthy  of  the  veneration 
of  angels  and  men,  and  that  it  consequently  must  have 
been  infinitely  meritorious  in  the  eyes  of  God. 


158 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


APPLICATION. 

It  is  we  religious,  above  all,  who  ought  to  be  men  of 
devotedness,  since  we  make  profession  of  belonging  all 
to  God.  What  souls  should  be  devoted  to  him,  if  not 
those  that  dwell  in  his  house?  Who  have  more 
motives  for  sacrificing  themselves  for  Jesus  and  with 
Jesus  than  we,  who  are  called  by  a special  grace  to 
imitate  that  adorable  Saviour — who,  more  than  we, 
have  been  the  objects  of  the  divine  liberality?  Prom 
whom,  consequently,  has  the  sovereign  Master  more 
right  to  exact  sacrifices  ? 

Under  whatever  point  of  view  we  consider  ourselves, 
it  is  evident  that,  as  religious,  we  should  possess  a 
devotedness  that  shrinks  from  nothing.  As  Christian 
teachers,  too,  wre  should  possess  it ; for  we  have,  as 
such,  to  fulfil  a work  wholly  of  self-denial. 

Let  us  remember  that  those  alone  do  good  who,  like 
St.  Joseph,  are  men  of  sacrifice,  and  let  us  endeavor  to 
make  ourselves  capable  of  doing  all  the  good  God  ex- 
pects of  us. 

Let  us  propose  to  ourselves  to  imitate  the  devoted- 
ness of  St.  Joseph.  Oh  what  good  we  should  then 
work  in  souls ! How  many  merits  w^e  should  acquire 
for  that  other  life  where  God  recompenses,  as  God, 
those  who  during  the  days  of  their  pilgrimage  devoted 
themselves  to  his  glory,  and  the  salvation  of  their 
brethren. 


PEATEE. 

O Joseph,  model  of  perfect  devotedness ! grant  me 
your  protection,  that  I may  become  your  imitator. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


159 


Grant  tliat  I may  be  truly  a man  of  sacrifice,  and 
that  thus  I may  do  all  the  good  that  God  expects  of 
me.  I beg  it  of  you,  by  your  desire  that  Jesus  Christ 
may  be  glorified,  and  that  the  souls  he  confides  to  me 
may  apply  to  themselves  the  merits  of  his  sufferings. 

RESUME. 

St.  Joseph  was,  in  a most  eminent  degree,  devoted  to 
the  work  that  Providence  required  of  him .... 

Let  us  consider  how  his  devotedness  was  pure  in  its 
source,  and  admirable  in  its  effects .... 

Joseph  was  a man  of  devotedness,  because  he  had  a 
noble  soul;. ..  .because  he  had  an  upright  mind,  and  a 
grateful  heart;. ..  .because  he  was  docile  to  the  call  of 
grace;. ..  .because  he  strove  to  make  himself  like  to 
Mary .... 

Joseph  was,  above  all,  a man  of  devotedness,  through 
his  desire  to  make  himself  like  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  is 
the  adorable  Victim  of  our  salvation. . . . 

The  devotedness  of  St.  Joseph  extended  through  all  his 
life ....  he  was  tried  by  difficulties  without  number,  but 
never  lost  heart ....  His  was  a devotedness  that  made  no 
display  before  the  eyes  of  men,  and  could  only  be  sus- 
tained by  views  of  faith. 

The  devotedness  of  St.  Joseph  is  the  model  of  that  we 
ought  to  have,  either  as  religious  or  as  teachers. 

Fruits. — To  strive  to  do  nothing  but  from  motives  of  faith,  and  de- 
void of  self-interest ; to  pray  to  God  to  raise  among  religious  many 
filled  with  devotedness  and  self-denial. 


TWENTY-FOURTH  MEDITATION. 

PURITY  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“No  price  is  worthy  of  a continent  soul.” — Eccles.  xxvi.  20. 


CONSIDEKATION. 

It  is  in  those  terms  that  the  Holy  Ghost  extols 
chastity — that  is  to  say,  the  virtue  that  requires  the 
greatest  efforts,  exacts  the  most  sacrifices,  and  calls 
for  most  precautions ; the  virtue  by  which,  above  all, 
we  give  proof  of  our  love  for  God,  fulfil  our  end,  put 
ourselves  in  a condition  to  do  good  to  souls,  honor 
our  profession,  and  glorify  the  God  of  holiness  who 
has  called  us  to  his  service.. 

Let  us,  then,  esteem  chastity,  and  practice  it  in  all 
its  perfection.  In  order  to  sustain  and  encourage  us 
in  this  path,  let  us  meditate  to-day  on  the  purity  of 
St.  Joseph.  Let  us  ask  ourselves  why  that  great  ser- 
vant of  God  excelled  in  purity,  and  what  were  in  him 
the  effects  of  that  virtue  ? 

St.  Joseph  excelled  in  purity,  because  he  had  the 
fear  of  God,  and  would  a thousand  times  sooner  have 
died  than  commit  sin;  because  he  wished  only  to 
please  God,  and  knew  that  the  Holy  of  holies  cannot 
accept  the  homage  of  a heart  defiled  by  sin ; because 
he  knew  that  chastity  is  the  indispensable  means  to 
make  ourselves  agreeable  to  Him  of  whom  it  is  said 
that  lie  feedetli  among  the  lilies .* 

* Cant.  ii.  16. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


161 


Joseph  excelled  in  purity,  because  he  surrounded 
himself  with  all  the  precautions  necessary  to  excel  in 
that  virtue.  He  loved  retirement  and  prayer ; he 
embraced  with  courage  the  practice  of  mortification ; 
he  led  a most  laborious  life,  interrupting  his  labors 
only  to  give  himself  up  to  exercises  of  piety,  or  to  take 
needful  repose.  He  fled  from  a world  all  covered  with 
snares ; he  watched  over  his  senses,  especially  his  eyes, 
and  on  that  account  led  in  a mortal  body  the  life  of  an 
angel. 

Joseph  excelled  in  purity,  because  he  was  faithful  to 
the  graces  with  which  God  endowed  him,  to  make 
him  worthy  of  the  mission  for  which  he  was  destined. 
Let  us  reflect  what  was  that  mission,  and  think  how 
necessary  it  was  that  he  should  be  chaste  who  was 
entrusted  with  it. 

Among  all  mere  creatures,  none  approached  so  near 
to  the  sanctity  of  God  as  Mary.  She  was  immaculate 
in  her  conception,  the  Virgin  Queen  of  virgins,  who 
first  raised  the  standard  of  virginity,  the  Virgin  worthy 
to  be  the  spouse  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to  give  to 
earth  the  divine  Liberator  who  was  to  destroy  the 
empire  of  sin  and  the  flesh,  and  to  cause  chastity, 
holiness,  and  justice  to  reign. 

In  the  decrees  of  Providence,  the  most  holy  Virgin 
needed  a spouse,  a guardian,  a protector,  and  it  is  the 
Holy  Ghost  himself  who  should  choose  him  and  make 
him  worthy  of  such  a mission.  Who,  then,  can  con- 
ceive to  what  a degree  of  chastity  God  called  St. 
Joseph,  and  to  what  a degree  he  raised  himself  by  cor- 
responding to  the  grace  given  him  for  that  end ! J oseph 
made  himself  worthy  to  be  the  spouse  of  the  most  pure 


162 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Virgin.  God,  before  whom  the  angels  are  scarce  pnre, 
cast  his  eyes  upon  him,  and  said : “ Behold  the  man 
according  to  my  heart.  Joseph,  I choose  you  to  be 
the  companion,  the  friend,  the  support,  the  spouse  of 
Her  to  whom  he  said  : Thou  art  all  fair , my  love , and 
there  is  not  a spot  in  thee.” 

Joseph  excelled  in  purity,  because  he  studied  to 
make  himself  conformable  to  the  most  holy  Virgin. 
When  we  remember  that  he  lived  about  thirty  years 
with  the  Queen  of  angels,  that  he  shared  in  all  her 
sentiments,  felt  the  influence  of  her  unequalled  virtue, 
we  can  imagine  that  none  of  the  saints  more  excelled 
in  chastity,  that  none  of  them  carried  that  virtue  to  a 
more  exalted  degree. 

But  St.  Joseph  was  to  have  a mission  holier  still  than 
that  of  spouse  of  Mary.  He  was  to  be  the  nursing  father 
of  Him  who  is  the  substantial  image  of  the  eternal  Fa- 
ther, and  from  whom  all  that  is  holy  receives  its  holiness. 

If  the  God  of  Israel  required  so  great  purity  to 
touch  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  if  he  enjoined  so  many 
purifications  upon  the  priests  before  daring  to  approach 
his  altar,  what  must  have  been  the  chastity  of  Joseph, 
who  was  so  frequently  allowed  to  touch  with  his  hands, 
to  carry  in  his  arms,  to  lift  towards  heaven  the  very 
Author  of  the  covenant — the  holy  Victim  of  whom  all 
the  victims  of  the  old  law  were  but  the  figure ! 

Yes,  they  were  chaste,  and  they  became  so  more 
and  more,  those  eyes  that  so  many  times  beheld 
Jesus  Christ — that  is  to  say,  him  who  radiates 
chastity  as  the  sun  radiates  light.  Yes,  they  were 
pure,  and  they  became  so  more  and  more,  those 
hands  that  so  often  touched  the  adorable  Victim,  that 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


163 


was  in  liis  own  person  to  crucify  the  flesh  with  its  con- 
cupiscences, to  destroy  the  kingdom  of  sin,  to  efface  by 
his  blood  all  our  defilements,  and  to  give  by  his  contact 
holiness  even  to  our  bodies. 

Blessed,  then,  be  God  who  favored  Joseph  with  a gift 
of  chastity  whose  excellence  we  cannot  conceive.  Let 
us  thus  give  glory  to  that  great  saint  for  all  he  has 
made  himself  worthy  of  by  his  good  will. 

Oh ! how  happy  he  was  to  keep  himself  pure  ! He 
deserved  that  God  should  look  upon  him  with  love,  and 
crown  him  with  his  graces.  He  made  himself  worthy  to 
become  the  spouse  of  Mary,  the  guardian  and  the 
adopted  father  of  Jesus.  He  placed  himself  in  the  fore- 
most rank  of  the  souls  most  agreeable  to  the  Lord.  He 
experienced  all  the  consolations  that  the  testimony  of 
a spotless  conscience  gives ; in  him  was  fulfilled  in  an 
ineffable  manner  that  maxim  of  Jesus  Christ : Blessed 
are  the  clean  of  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God* 

, He  saw'  the  Son  of  God  on  this  earth,  where  that 
divine  Saviour  gave  him  all  the  proofs  of  the  greatest 
love ; he  sees  him  now  in  glory,  where  his  chastity  has 
placed  him  in  the  rank  of  the  seraphim,  the  first 
among  the  virgins  spoken  of  in  the  Apocalypse  t who 
have  never  sullied  their  robes  of  innocence,  who  follow 
the  Lamb  wherever  he  goes,  and  can  alone  sing  the 
canticle  by  which  they  bless  and  do  homage  to  him 
for  the  lily  of  their  chastity. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  remember  that  Jesus  Christ,  our  divine  Mas- 
ter, finds  his  delight  only  among  the  lilies:  that  no 
* St.  Matt.  v.  8.  f Apoc.  xiv.  3,  4. 


164 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


hearts  are  agreeable  to  him  but  such  as,  like  that  of 
St.  Joseph  are  open  to  no  inordinate  affection. 

Let  us  remember  that  chastity  belongs  essentially  to 
our  state,  and  that  it  is  the  object  of  our  most  sacred 
promises.  Let  there,  therefore,  be  no  negligence  on 
that  head.  God,  in  giving  us  the  grace  of  our  voca- 
tion, gave  us  that  of  great  purity.  Let  us  strive,  then, 
to  correspond  to  it,  and,  for  that  purpose,  let  us  imitate 
St.  J oseph  in  the  precaution  with  which  he  guarded 
that  virtue.  Let  us  excite  ourselves  thereto  by  the 
thought  of  the  advantages  that  chastity  procures. 

Oh  how  happy  are  those  who  keep  themselves 
pure ! how  powerful  they  are  over  the  heart  of  Jesus ! 
What  graces  they  obtain  during  the  course  of  their 
lives ! With  what  consolations  God  favors  them ! 
How  they  congratulate  themselves  on  their  watchful- 
ness when  they  come  to  the  end  of  their  career,  and, 
seeing  the  hour  of  death  approach,  say  to  themselves  : 
st  Why  should  I fear  ? He  before  whom  I am  about  to 
appear  is  the  same  one  who  taught  that  maxim  on 
which  I found  my  dearest  hopes : Blessed  are  the  dean 
of  heart,  for  they  shcdl  see  God.” 

PRAYER. 

Glorious  St.  Joseph,  who  have  been  chosen  by  God 
to  be  the  nursing  father  of  the  Word  made  flesh,  the 
faithful  spouse  of  the  most  holy  Virgin,  and  the 
guardian  of  her  chastity!  obtain  for  us  from  the 
Father  a perfect  submission  to  his  holy  will;  from 
the  Son,  the  study  of  his  divine  mysteries ; and  from 
the  Holy  Ghost,  purity  of  heart  and  body,  and  an 
entire  fidelity  to  his  graces. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


165 


RESUME. 

St.  Joseph  excelled  in  chastity,  because  he  had  the  fear 
of  God,  and  observed  his  holy  law  faithfully  ;. . . .because 
he  was  prudent,  and  surrounded  himself  with  the  most 
useful  precautions. 

Joseph  excelled  in  chastity,  because  he  had  received  the 
grace  of  it  in  an  eminent  degree,  with  a view  to  the  great 
things  for  which  God  destined  him. 

What  must  have  been  the  purity  of  him  who  was  to 
become  the  worthy  spouse  of  the  immaculate  Virgin ! 

How  holy  must  he  have  been  who  was  to  have  the  most 
intimate  relations  with  the  holy  God ! 

Joseph  excelled  in  chastity,  because  he  came  under  the 
whole  influence  of  Mary,  and  still  more  of  Jesus,  that 
divine  Sun  from  whom  all  sanctity  radiates .... 

Oh  how  happy  must  Joseph  have  been  to  practice  in  all 
its  perfection  the  virtue  of  purity ! It  was  the  source  of 
his  prerogatives — the  reason  why  God  glorified  it  in  him, 
by  giving  him  the  first  place  among  the  virgins  who  follow 
the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth .... 

Fruits. — To  watch  over  our  senses,  and  more  especially  our  eyes  ; to 
honor  St  Joseph  as  the  patron  of  pure  souls  ; to  pray  to  him  with  great 
fervor — above  all,  in  times  of  temptation. 


TWENTY-FIFTH  MEDITATION. 


HUMILITY  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ Learn  of  me,  for  I am  meek  and  humble  of  heart.” — St.  Matt.  xi.  29. 


C ON  SIDEB  ATION. 

No  one,  next  to  Mary,  understood  better  than  St. 
Joseph  the  necessity  and  advantages  of  humility,  be- 
cause no  one  possessed  more  of ' the  spirit  of  our 
divine  Saviour.  It  will  be,  then,  very  advantageous  to 
us  especially,  who,  by  our  state,  should  only  act  ac- 
cording to  the  teachings  of  our  adorable  Master,  to 
consider  in  its  power  and  effects  the  humility  of  St. 
Joseph. 

Joseph  was  humble,  because  he  possessed  in  an 
eminent  degree  the  virtue  of  justice,  and  consequently 
was  born  with  his  wThole  heart  to  acknowledge  that 
glory  is  due  to  God  alone,  and  that  man  is  by  himself 
only  misery  and  nothingness. 

Joseph  was  humble,  because  he  made  himself  faith- 
ful to  grace.  To  accomplish  his  most  admirable  de- 
signs, the  Lord  wishes  only  such  souls  as  do  not  attri- 
bute the  glory  of  it  to  themselves.  On  that  account 
he  predisposed  St.  Joseph,  whom  he  destined  for  the 
greatest,  the  most  glorious,  and  the  most  important 
mission  next  to  what  was  to  be  fulfilled  by  the  most 
holy  Virgin,  by  a most  profound  humility.  Now,  that 
faithful  servant  of  the  Most  High  perfectly  corresponded 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


167 


to  the  graces  with  which  the  Holy  Ghost  favored  him 
for  that  end.  Therefore,  he  excelled  in  humility. 

Joseph  was  humble,  because  he  understood  the 
humility  of  Mary.  How,  in  fact,  must  his  heart  have 
been  closed  against  every  sentiment  of  vainglory 
when  he  beheld  the  Virgin-Mother  of  God  putting 
herself  in  subjection  to  him,  calling  herself  only  the 
handmaid  of  the  Lord,  humbling  herself  before  all, 
and  concealing  in  the  depths  of  her  soul  the  secret  of 
the  most  distinguished  heavenly  favors  ? 

Joseph  was  humble,  because  he  contemplated  with 
the  most  excellent  dispositions  of  heart  the  humilia- 
tions of  the  Son  of  God.  Ah  ! who  shall  tell  us  what 
sentiments  were  awakened  in  his  soul  when  he  beheld 
the  Child  Jesus,  and  said  to  himself : “ Here  is  my 
God,  the  Eternal  Word,  equal  to  the  Father,  who  be- 
came that  little  Child  I beheld  in  the  crib,  while  I saw 
his  tears  flow  ?”  Oh  how  at  these  thoughts  could  his 
heart  have  any  other  desire  than  to  humble  himself  at 
the  sight  of  a God  so  humbled ! 

But  let  us  not  confine  ourselves  to  contemplating 
the  humility  of  St.  Joseph  in  its  source.  Let  us  see  it 
also  in  its  effects. 

Joseph  had  many  claims  upon  what  is  called  glory. 
A descendant  of  the  royal  race  of  David ; virtuous  as 
God  required  of  him ; respected,  and  even  venerated 
by  the  blessed  Spirits ; spouse  of  the  Queen  of  heaven 
and  earth  ; nursing  father  of  Jesus,  and,  as  such,  more 
favored  than  ever  anything  of  this  world  was,  since 
he  had  under  his  authority,  or,  rather,  under  his  care 
and  protection,  the  King  of  kings,  the  Lord  of  lords, — 
what  grounds  had  he  not  to  esteem  himself? 


168 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


But  that  worthy  spouse  of  Mary  does  not  stop  to 
consider  any  of  these  titles,  or,  if  he  considers  them,  it 
is  only  to  take  occasion  from  thence  to  glorify  God, 
and  humble  himself  before  men. 

No  shadow  of  vanity  darkened  his  mind,  or  was  ex- 
pressed upon  his  countenance.  'Let  us  open  the  Gos- 
pel. We  do  not  hear  him  say  even  a word.  His  humil- 
ity led  him  not  only  to  attribute  none  of  the  preroga- 
tives he  possessed  to  himself,  but  it  made  him  preserve, 
as  to  these  very  prerogatives,  a modest  silence.  He 
does  not  say  one  word  of  the  astonishing  prodigies  that 
were  revealed  to  him,  nor  of  the  sublimity  of  the 
office  he  exercised.  He  conceals  beneath  an  impenetra- 
ble veil  all  that  could  attract  to  him  the  esteem  of  men ; 
but  he  does  not  conceal  from  himself  that  he  was  the 
object  of  the  special  predilection  of  God,  but  he  is 
eager  to  pay  homage  for  it  to  his  goodness.  He  unites 
himself  with  Mary  in  magnifying  God,  because  he  had 
regarded  the  humility  of  his  servant. 

He  reflects  on  what  he  is  of  himself,  and  on  the 
great  things  to  which  God,  nevertheless,  destined  him, 
and  then  he  expresses  his  astonishment.  Who  will 
tell  us  what  passed  in  his  soul,  when  he  considered 
that  the  Emmanuel  was  confided  to  his  care,  and 
dwelt  with  him  ? Ah ! if  the  Centurion  of  the  Gospel 
said  to  Jesus,  Lord , I am  not  worthy  that  thou  shouldst 
enter  under  my  roof*  what  must  have  been  in  secret 
the  language  of  St.  Joseph  ? How  many  a time  must 
he  have  repeated  : What  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful 
of  him  ? or  the  son  of  man  that  thou  visitest  him  ?\  Why 
have  you  come  to  dwell  in  the  house  of  your  poor  holy 
* St.  Matt.  viii.  8.  f Ps.  viii.  5. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSETH. 


169 


servant  ? ....  I was  not  worthy  even  to  appear  in  your 
presence,  and,  behold,  you  have  become  my  adopted 
Son,  and  I hear  you  give  me  the  sweet  name  of  father ! 

The  humility  of  St.  Joseph  which  thus  led  him  to 
acknowledge  the  graces  of  God,  inspired  in  him 
equally  perfect  resignation  in  the  condition  in  which 
he  was  placed.  Stricken  by  misfortune,  this  son  of 
David  was  reduced  to  be  no  more  than  a poor  artisan, 
working  every  day  to  gain  sustenance  for  the  morrow, 
gaining  by  great  fatigue  the  wages  necessary  for  his 
sustenance.  He  has  no  abode  but  a humble  cottage, 
where  nothing  speaks  of  his  distinguished  origin,  and 
where  he  leads  only  a poor,  suffering,  obscure  life. 
Many  of  his  neighbors  have  no  regard  for  him.  He 
passes  his  days  in  his  modest  workshop,  where  he 
gives  himself  up  to  the  most  painful  labors ; but  he 
does  not  complain  ; and  even  it  seems  to  him  that  his 
humiliations  are  nothing  compared  to  those  of  Jesus 
and  Mary.  Therefore,  he  submits  with  joy  to  all  the 
humiliations  of  his  condition.  The  more  he  reflects 
that  Providence  has  humbled  him  by  the  circum- 
stances that  have  reduced  him  to  the  condition  of  a 
poor  artisan,  the  more  he  humbled  himself  in  spirit 
and  in  heart,  so  as  better  to  correspond  to  the  views 
of  God. 

But  not  only  does  his  humility  inspire  him  with  re- 
signation, it  leads  him,  moreover,  to  rejoice  in  his 
lowliness  in  the  eyes  of  men ; it  makes  him  under- 
stand how  advantageous  it  is  to  be  forgotten  by  them — 
forsaken,  and  even  despised,  for  he  turns  his  soul 
wholly  towards  God  alone.  He  also  makes  that  a 

subject  of  thanksgiving  which  appears  a subject  of 

8 


170 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


pain,  and  cries  out,  with.  David,  “ It  is  good  for  me  that 
thou  hast  humbled  me*  I know  that  the  more  humble 
before  you  is  he  that  adores  you,  the  more  agreeable 
is  his  homage,  and  the  more  you  open  to  him  the 
treasure  of  your  mercies.” 

APPLICATION. 

It  is  we,  above  all,  Brothers  of  the  Christian 
Schools,  who  ought  to  imitate  the  humility  of  St. 
Joseph.  Our  mission  is,  in  one  sense,  like  his ; it  has 
nothing  dazzling  in  the  eyes  of  men,  and  seems  to  ask 
their  esteem  the  less  the  more  important  the  good  is 
that  it  seeks  to  realize. 

Let  us,  therefore,  enter  upon  the  practice  of  this 
virtue  ; and  to  excite  ourselves  to  it,  let  us  meditate 
frequently  upon  the  humiliation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
the  mysteries  of  his  Childhood,  and  those  of  his  pas- 
sion. Let  us  meditate  upon  them,  also,  in  the  sacra- 
ment of  his  love,  where  he  has  humbled  himself  so  as 
to  conceal  himself  under  the  appearance  of  bread; 
and  assuredly  no  vainglory  could  arise  in  our  hearts, 
astonished  at  the  humility  of  Him  who  alone  has  a 
right  to  be  glorified ! 

Let  us  think,  moreover,  that  by  humility  we  shall 
obtain  the  most  precious  favors  of  Heaven ; we  shall 
work  great  good  among  our  pupils ; we  shall  advance 
the  work  of  our  perfection ; we  shall  merit  more  and 
more  the  heavenly  glory  with  which  God  recompenses 
all  those  who,  in  imitation  of  St.  Joseph,  have  aspired 
only  to  humility,  so  as  to  render  a most  worthy  homage 
of  adoration  to  his  sovereign  Majesty. 


Ps.  cxviii.  71. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


171 


PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  who  wert  the  most  humble  of  God’s  ser- 
vants ! we  entreat  you  to  obtain  for  us  the  virtue  of 
humility,  so  that  we  may  pay  a worthy  homage  to  that 
sovereign  Lord,  and  that  we  may  merit  to  be,  one  day, 
with  you,  the  object  of  his  eternal  mercies. 

RESUME. 

Let  us  consider  the  humility  of  St.  J oseph  in  its  source 
and  in  its  effects 

Joseph  was  humble,  because  he  was  just — that  is  to 
say,  rendering  to  God  the  glory  that  is  due  to  him,  and 
acknowledging  that  man  has  nothing  of  himself. . . . 

Joseph  was  humble,  because  he  was  faithful  to  grace; 
because  he  understood  the  humility  of  Mary; be- 
cause he  meditated  with  faith  and  love  on  the  humilia- 
tions of  the  Incarnate  Word 

At  the  sight  of  his  God  thus  humbling  himself,  what 
could  he  desire  but  to  humble  himself  with  him,  to  pay 
him  a worthy  homage  of  adoration  ? 

The  humility  of  St.  Joseph  led  him  to  seek  in  nothing 
the  esteem  of  men.  He  had  many  titles  to  that  esteem; 
but  he  set  no  account  on  them.  He  wishes  but  one  thing 
— to  glorify  the  God  of  heaven,  and  to  be  unknown  upon 
earth. 

The  humility  of  St.  Joseph  leads  him  to  be  perfectly  re- 
signed to  his  condition  of  the  artisan, to  take  occasion 

from  it  to  bless  and  thank  Providence. 

Thus,  that  virtue  is  to  him  a source  of  great  graces,  by 
which  he  makes  himself  more  and  more  worthy  of  the 
favors  with  which  God  recompenses  those  who  forget 
themselves  to  please  him. 

Fruits. — To  avoid  speaking  of  ourselves  ; to  desire  no  other  position 
than  that  in  which  Providence  has  placed  us  ; to  meditate  often  on  the 
acts  of  the  humility  of  the  Incarnate  Word. 


TWENTY-SIXTH  MEDITATION. 


THE  POVERTY  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“I  am  poor,  and  in  labors  from  my  youth.*’ — Ps.  lxxxvii.  16. 


CONSIDERATION. 

As  the  virtue  of  poverty  makes  part  of  our  strictest 
obligations,  it  w-ill  be  very  advantageous  to  us  to  con- 
sider howr  far  our  glorious  patron  practiced  it,  and  to 
learn  from  him  what  is  true  poverty  of  mind  and  heart. 

Let  us  consider,  then,  to-day  the  poverty  of  St. 
Joseph  in  itself,  the  esteem  he  entertained  for  it,  the 
dispositions  with  which  he  supported  its  hardships. 

Joseph  could,  in  all  truth,  make  use  of  those  words 
of  David : I am  poor , and  in  labors  from  my  youth . 
His  family,  formerly  rich,  had  fallen  from  its  ancient 
splendor  through  the  unfavorableness  of  the  times, 
and  had  been  reduced  to  a state  bordering  on  destitu- 
tion. “ That  great  servant  of  God,”  says  St.  Francis  of 
of  Sales,  “ was  poor  all  his  life,  and  in  poverty,  despised, 
rejected,  and  in  want  of  necessaries.  He  was  looked 
upon  as  a poor  carpenter,  who,  though  laboring  as- 
siduously for  the  support  of  the  Holy  Family,  could 
not  rise  so  high  as  not  to  want  many  things  necessary.” 

His  name  only  reminded  one  of  a poor  mechanic ; 
his  house  seemed  the  very  abode  of  poverty ; all  the 
districts  through  wdiich  he  travelled  saw  him  in  poverty. 
At  Bethlehem,  his  poverty  closed  the  inns  against  him, 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


173 


and  left  him  free  admittance  only  to  an  abandoned 
stable;  at  Jerusalem,  his  poverty  left  him  only  a poor 
offering  to  repurchase  the  Child  Jesus;  in  Egypt,  it 
condemned  him  to  incessant  labor,  and,  according  to 
many  authors,  to  the  sight  of  Jesus  and  Mary  suffering 
from  hunger,  without  having  it  in  his  power  to  procure 
them  necessaries. 

Behold,  what  was  the  poverty  of  Joseph.  Let  us 
reflect  now  on  the  esteem  in  which  he  held  it. 

Joseph  looks  upon  poverty  with  the  eyes  of  faith, 
and  therefore  appreciates  it  as  most  excellent  and 
supremely  advantageous. 

He  understood  in  the  beginning  that  riches  are 
snares  for  the  soul ; that  not  only  are  they  the  source 
of  a thousand  troubles,  but  that  they  cherish  and 
excite  avarice — a passion  that  is  the  parent  of  so  many 
evils — which  turns  man  aside,  from  his  end,  which 
keeps  him  bowed  down  to  the  earth,  without  allowing 
him  to  raise  his  soul  to  his  heavenly  country.  J osepli 
then  could  see  in  poverty  only  a deliverer  that  frees 
us  from  our  fetters,  and  he  esteemed  it  consequently 
as  a signal  grace  of  Providence.  On  that  account, 
when,  through  his  natural  qualities  and  his  high  birth, 
he  might  have  aspired  to  a higher  condition  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world,  he  chose  to  be  a simple  artisan, 
who  can  provide  the  necessaries  of  life  only  by  inces- 
sant toil. 

Joseph  appreciates  poverty,  because  he  knows  that 
God  himself  appreciates  it.  He  understands  that  it  is 
a source  of  the  greatest  graces,  and  the  cause  of  the 
choice  that  was  made  of  him  to  be  the  nursing-father 
of  the  Son  of  God.  Joseph  heard  in  the  depths  of 


174 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


his  soul  that  invitation  which  St.  Liguori  places  in  the 
mouth  of  God  the  Father  : “ I have  sent  my  Son  upon 
earth,  O Joseph,  and  I have  sent  him  poor,  humble, 
without  the  pomp  of  riches  or  outward  dignities ; 
therefore,  he  will  be  despised  in  the  world,  and,  be- 
cause of  your  profession,  called  the  son  of  a car- 
penter. I have  wished  that  you  should  be  poor, 
because  I destined  you  to  take  the  place  of  father  to 
my  Son,  poor  as  yourself.” 

But  the  principal  reason  why  St.  Joseph  esteemed 
poverty  was  because  he  saw  it  honored  above  all 
praise  by  Jesus  Christ  himself. 

Ah ! how  could  he  but  appreciate  it,  since  the  divine 
Master,  to  wThom  he  had  so  great  a resemblance,  pre- 
ferred it  to  all  the  riches  of  the  world.  He  came  from 
heaven  to  earth  to  espouse  it ; and  desired  only  a poor 
mother,  a poor  foster-father,  and  called  upon  the  poor 
to  be  his  first  adorers. 

How  St.  Joseph  esteemed  poverty  when  he  recalled 
to  mind  the  circumstances  of  the  birth  of  Jesus,  and 
said  to  himself : “ I was  very  poor  in  my  small  house  in 
Nazareth ; nevertheless,  I was  not  sufficiently  poor  to 
please  my  divine  Saviour.  He  wished  to  be  bom  at 
Bethlehem;  at  the  time  when  I was  poorest,  and  to 
have  no  other  palace  than  a stable,  and  no  other  bed 
than  a manger.” 

Moreover,  all  the  relations  of  St.  Joseph  with  his 
divine  adopted  Son  were  of  a nature  to  make  him 
esteem  poverty.  When  he  beheld  him  in  his  poverty — 
when  he  saw  him  stretch  out  his  divine  hands  to  ask  a 
little  bread — when  he  said  to  himself,  “ The  Lord  is 
seated  at  the  table  of  the  poor,  and  has  chosen  the 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


175 


last  place  among  tlie  poor” — when  he  reflected  that  he 
who  could  have  all  things,  wished  to  have  absolutely 
nothing,  he  must  have  been  persuaded  more  and  more 
that  poverty  is  a hidden  and  inappreciable  treasure, 
and  have  had  a presentiment  that  the  divine  Master 
would,  one  day,  extol  it,  by  saying  to  those  who  prac- 
ticed it  with  faith : Blessed  are  ye  poor , for  yours  is 
the  kingdom  of  God* 

Joseph,  therefore,  esteemed  poverty  in  the  highest 
degree;  moreover,  he  constantly  glorified  God  in  the 
privations  it  imposed  upon  him. 

The  poverty  of  Joseph  w^as  to  him  a source  of  in- 
cessant sufferings.  It  obliged  him  to  constant  labor 
all  his  life ; it  often  left  him  a prey  to  the  severities  of 
hunger ; it  drew  upon  him  slights  and  contempt  on  the 
part  of  men.  It  was  to  him,  above  all,  a cause  of  heart- 
break in  the  privations  it  imposed  upon  Jesus  and 
Mary,  whom  he  saw  so  frequently  in  want  without 
having  it  indiis  power  to  relieve  them.  But  of  what- 
ever kind,  and  however  numerous  his  sufferings  may 
have  been,  Joseph,  in  his  poverty,  never  allowed  him- 
self to  give  way  to  murmurs  and  complaints,  but 
always  kept  himself  perfectly  resigned.  God  saw  in 
him  the  just  man  tried,  but  becoming  by  the  trial  more 
and  more  just,  and  always  ready  to  repeat  in  the  dis- 
positions of  his  heart : Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord . 

APPLICATION. 

Are  we,  in  regard  to  poverty,  in  the  same  interior  dis- 
positions as  St.  Joseph  ? We  have  more  motives  for  it 
than  he,  since  it  forms  an  essential  part  of  our  obliga- 
* St.  Luke  vi.  20. 


176 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


tions,  which  God  formally  requires  of  us,  and  which  is 
one  of  the  essential  characters  of  our  state. 

Do  we  look  at  it  from  the  point  of  view  of  faith  ?•  Do 
we  esteem  it  as  Jesus  Christ  esteemed  it  ? Let  us  love 
the  poor,  and  be  inclined  to  give  all  our  care  to  those 
among  our  pupils  who  are  in  the  greatest  necessity. 

Do  we  really  practice  poverty?  Have  we  nothing 
superfluous — nothing  that  we  keep  unknown  to  our 
superiors?  Do  we  employ  what  is  for  our  use  only 
according  to  the  directions  of  obedience  ? 

What  do  we  do  when  poverty  makes  us  feel  its  hard- 
ships? Do  we  think  then  that  God  favors  us,  since 
it  furnishes  us  with  a valuable  opportunity  of  proving 
our  love  to  him,  of  wreaning  our  hearts  from  self- 
interest  and  creatures,  and  increasing  our  merits  for 
heaven  ? Let  us  strive  to  enter  into  these  dispositions, 
and,  after  having  asked  the  grace  from  God,  by  the  in- 
tercession of  St.  Joseph,  let  us  do  all  in  our  power  to 
possess  them.  Let  us  attain  to  that  degree  of  virtue 
wdiich  makes  of  every  trial  and  every  privation  an 
occasion  of  blessing  and  glorifying  God. 

PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  son  of  David,  who  have  chosen  to  be  only 
a poor  artisan,  obtain  for  me  the  grace  of  loving  and 
esteeming  poverty,  of  suppbrting  all  its  hardships  with 
faith  and  patience,  of  even  desiring  them  so  as  to 
make  myself,  like  you,  conformable  to  Jesus  Christ, 
vdio  became  poor  for  love  of  us,  and  of  meriting,  when 
I leave  the  world,  to  hear  these  words  applied  to  me  : 
Blessed  are  ye  poor,  for  yours  is  the  kingdom  of  God . 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


177 


R&SUM&. 

Let  us  consider  the  poverty  of  St.  Joseph,  the  esteem 
in  which  he  held  it,  the  dispositions  with  which  he  sup- 
ported its  hardships 

Joseph  was  poor — in  abject,  despised,  necessitous  pover- 
ty.. . .Let  us  remember  Nazareth,  Bethlehem,  and  Egypt ; 
all  these  speak  of  his  poverty .... 

Joseph  esteemed  poverty,  because  he  looked  at  it  with 
the  eyes  of  faith .... 

He  considered  how  advantageous  it  is  to  be  free  from 
the  troubles  that  the  riches  of  earth  give,  which  are  so 
calculated  to  excite  avarice,  and  to  hinder  the  soul  from 
rising  to  God. 

Above  all,  he  considered  the  esteem  in  which  our  divine 
Saviour  held  poverty,  since  he  wished  to  be  born  and  to 

live  deprived  of  every  earthly  treasure and  to  testify 

in  all  circumstances  his  predilection  for  the  poor 

Joseph  glorified  God  in  his  poverty.  It  caused  him 
many  a privation,  occasioned  him  much  suffering  of  every 
kind  ; but  he  never  ceased  to  bless  Providence 

Very  far  from  complaining  or  murmuring,  he  made  of 
his  poverty  an  occasion  for  thanksgiving  to  God,  who 
proved  him,  and  therefore  a source  of  numberless  merits 
for  heaven. 

Fruits. — To  esteem  poverty;  to  bless  God  when  he  offers  ns  occasions 
for  suffering  ; to  give  our  care  to  poor  children,  and  with  a special  pre- 
dilection to  the  most  necessitous. 


TWENTY-SEVENTH  MEDITATION. 


PATIENCE  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ In  your  patience  you  shall  possess  your  souls.”— St.  Luke  xxi.  19. 


CONSIDEKATION. 

The  virtue  of  patience  consists  in  restraining  one’s 
self  in  suffering  from  supernatural  motives — in  enduring 
the  many  sufferings  of  this  life  with  calm  resignation 
and  confidence  in  God.  Now,  it  is  easy  to  understand 
that  our  holy  patron  practiced  it  in  an  excellent  degree. 

Joseph  enjoyed  ineffable  consolations ; but  he  also 
experienced  many  sufferings.  Did  he  not  see  his 
family  fallen  from  its  state  of  prosperity?  Was  he 
not  obliged  to  lead  a life  wholly  of  labor  and  self- 
denial?  How  many  contradictions  had  that  son  of 
David  to  meet  whiled  exercising  the  humble  calling  of 
a carpenter,  and  placing  himself  in  subjection  to  those 
who  chose  to  employ  him  ! 

Above  all,  had  he  not  to  suffer  after  the  incarnation 
of  the  Son  of  God  ? Ah ! it  was  he,  indeed,  who  ex- 
perienced that  wherever  Jesus  enters  he  comes  with 
his  cross  and  his  crown  of  thorns.  Beginning  from 
the  time  when  the  Son  of  God  was  committed  to  his 
care,  was  he  not  tried  by  constant  reverses  ? Joseph 
and  Mary  were  poor  at  Nazareth  ; still  they  had  a 
house.  Now,  when  Jesus  comes  into  the  world,  he  has 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


179 


no  house  for  them,  and  they  are  obliged  to  seek  shel- 
ter in  an  abandoned  stable.  They  lived  together  in 
their  home  poorly,  but  quite  content,  surmounting 
their  poverty  by  their  courage  and  constant  labor ; 
and,  behold,  after  the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  are 
a prey  to  every  kind  of  misfortune.  The  life  of  J oseph 
appears  no  other  than  a series  of  sufferings,  difficulties, 
and  contradictions. 

He  had,  then,  much  to  suffer  under  all  these  respects ; 
but  whatever  were  his  trials,  they  could  not  disturb 
the  peace  of  his  soul.  In  his  sufferings,  he  adores  and 
blesses  the  hand  of  God,  from  whom  he  receives  good 
things  as  well  as  evil. 

Let  us,  then,  admire  our  glorious  patron,  practicing 
with  such  perfection  the  virtue  of  patience  ; let  us  con- 
gratulate him  on  having  shown  himself  so  great  in  ad- 
versity, and  let  us  seek  the  source  of  that  strength  of 
soul  we  recognize  in  him. 

Joseph  was  patient,  because  he  formed  a just  idea  of 
things,  and  because  he  did  not  allow  himself  to  give 
way  to  any  of  those  exaggerated  sentiments  that  are  so 
frequently  the  cause  of  our  want  of  resignation.  He 
was  patient,  because  he  was  humble  of  heart,  and 
never  gave  ear  to  self-love,  which,  at  bottom,  is  alone 
the  true  cause  of  our  acts  of  impatience. 

Joseph  was  patient,  because  he  was  faithful  to  grace, 
which  is  always  proportioned  to  the  greatness  of  our 
trials,  and  because  he  lived  by  faith.  Convinced  that 
nothing  happens  to  us  but  what  God  wills,  and  that 
God  wills  nothing  but  what  is  for  our  good,  he  saw  in 
the  numberless  trials  he  had  to  undergo  only  the 
effects  of  the  divine  goodness  and  the  merciful  atten- 


180 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


tion  of  Providence.  He  considered,  moreover,  how 
great  is  the  patience  of  God,  who  maketh  his  sun  rise 
upon  the  just  and  the  unjust,  and  he  endeavored  to 
imitate  him.  Moreover,  his  faith  showed  him  that 
heavenly  country  wdiere  the  sovereign  Master  so  lib- 
erally rewards  patient  and  resigned  souls — where  every 
suffering  endured  for  love  of  him  is  worth  an  eternal 
weight  of  glory — where  a slight  sacrifice  is  recompensed 
by  incomparable  felicity. 

Joseph  was  patient,  also,  in  consequence  of  his  rela- 
tions with  Mary,  and,  above  all,  with  Jesus. 

Did  he  not  see  his  holy  spouse  suffering  with  him, 
like  him,  and  even  more  than  he  ? Did  he  not  behold 
at  times  when,  the  prophecy  of  the  aged  Simeon  was 
in  part  fulfilled,  a sword  of  sorrow  piercing  her 
maternal  heart  ? Now,  he  always  found  her  perfectly 
resigned  to  the  Divine  will,  repeating  unceasingly,  in 
her  interior  dispositions,  “ I am  the  handmaid  of  the 
Lord ; be  it  done  to  me  according  to  his  adorable  will.7’ 
How  could  his  heart,  so  docile  to  the  influence  of  that 
of  Mary,  fail  to  share  those  sentiments  of  patience  and 
resignation  ? 

Yet  the  principal  source  of  patience  in  Joseph 
sprung  from  his  relations  with  Jesus.  How  could  his 
soul  but  be  perfectly  resigned  to  suffer  everything, 
when  with  his  eyes  he  beheld  the  state  to  which  his 
divine  Master  reduced  himself — when  he  saw  God 
making  himself  a victim  for  us,  taking  on  him  our  in- 
firmities, choosing  to  follow  a career  wdiolly  of  suffer- 
ing, resigning  himself  to  undergo  every  species  of  con- 
tradiction, and  showing  that  he  sought  only  privations 
and  fatigue. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


181 


Joseph  knew  by  the  prophecies  a portion  of  what 
Jesus  Christ  was  to  suffer  during  his  Passion.  The 
veil  of  a future  that  he  was  not  to  behold  upon  this 
earth  was  raised  from  before  his  eyes,  and  he  was  per- 
mitted to  contemplate  the  divine  Word  completing  his 
bloody  sacrifice  on  Calvary.  Ah ! what  passed  in  his 
heart  when  he  thought  how  J esus  had  come  into  this 
world  to  be  a sign  to  be  contradicted.  That,  in  expia- 
tion of  our  sins,  he  was  to  be  persecuted,  disowned, 
insulted,  treated  as  the  outcast  of  the  people,  put  in 
the  class  of  criminals,  and  deserving,  with  all  truth, 
to  be  called  a “ Man  of  sorroivsfi  and  acquainted  with 
infirmity  ? With  what  sentiments  was  he  filled, 
when,  beholding  the  Child  Jesus  in  all  the  grace  of 
youth,  he  remembered  these  passages  of  the  prophe- 
cies : Surely  he  hath  borne  our  infirmities , and  carried 
our  sorrows : and  ive  have  thought  him , as  it  were , a 
leper , and  as  one  struck  by  God  and  afflicted . But  he 
teas  wounded  for  our  iniquities , he  was  bruised  for  our 
sins.* 

Evidently,  with  such  thoughts,  he  must  have  had  a 
still  greater  desire  to  suffer  in  this  world,  to  be  more 
like  to  the  divine  Master,  who,  for  love  of  us*  was  to 
undergo  so  many  sufferings. 

Joseph  was,  then,  from  motives  of  faith,  a model  of 
patience ; consequently,  he  drew  from  it  the  most 
precious  advantages.  He  found  in  the  exercise  of  that 
virtue,  peace  of  soul — an  increase  of  strength  and 
courage  that  made  him  superior  to  all  his  trials — a 
source  of  countless  merits  for  heaven.  By  it  he 
showed  himself  a true  friend  of  God,  who  discerns  in 
° Isaias  liii.  4,  5. 


182 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


sufferings  those  who  belong  sincerely  to  him,  and  who 
cannot  suffer  himself  to  be  surpassed  in  generosity. 

APPLICATION. 

“ Poor  and  wretched  ceatures  that  we  are,”  says  St. 
Francis  of  Sales,  “ we  can  do  scarcely  any  other  good 
in  this  miserable  world  than  submit  to  some  affliction. 
When,  then,  sufferings  and  labors  are  offered  us,  let  us 
accept  them  willingly  from  the  most  loving  hand  of  our 
God,  $s  if  we  saw  him  present — offering  ourselves, 
moreover,  to  endure  still  more,  if  it  seems  good  to  him.” 

Let  us  enter  into  the  spirit  of  these  words,  and  make 
from  day  to  day  new  progress  in  the  practice  of  patience. 
We  need  it  more  than  others,  we  religious  teachers.  Let 
us  draw  the  grace  for  that  virtue  from  the  same  sources 
as  St.  Joseph — that  is  to  say,  from  the  spirit  of  faith, 
and  the  desire  to  make  ourselves  like  to  Jesus  Christ. 

What  are  our  trials  in  this  life,  if  we  compare  them 
with  those  we  deserve  to  suffer  ? Sinners  worthy  of 
hell,  can  we  find  the  light  cross  which  Providence  ap- 
portions to  us  too  heavy  ? 

What  are  our  sufferings,  even  the  greatest,  com- 
pared with  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  ? What ! we  are 
the  disciples  of  the  God  of  Calvary,  and  we  want  re- 
signation and  patience  ! What  a contradiction ! . . . . 
Let  us  cast  our  eyes  on  the  crucifix ; let  us  think  on 
the  sufferings  of  our  adorable  Master,  and  remember 
that  it  is  only  those  who  resemble  him  that  are  ad- 
mitted into  the  number  of  his  elect.  Let  us  make  it 
all  our  study  to  be  patient  and  resigned,  as  St.  Joseph 
was ; and  let  us  ask  of  God  the  grace  to  be  so,  by  his 
protection,  which  has  always  been  extended  to  us. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


183 


PRAYER. 

0 Joseph,  who  has  been  so  courageous  in  adver- 
sity, obtain  for  me,  I beseech  you,  the  strength  of  soul 
necessary  to  imitate  you  in  that  respect.  Grant,  by 
your  intercession,  that  all  my  trials  may  be  to  me  oc- 
casions for  blessing  Providence,  and  merit  for  me  that 
weight  of  glory  which  recompenses  for  eternity  the 
sufferings  we  endure  here  below  with  patience,  and 
for  the  love  of  him. 


b£sum£. 

Joseph  experienced  many  contradictions  in  his  youth  ; 

the  ruin  of  his  family  occasioned  him  much  suffering 

He  was  still  more  tried  from  the  time  of  the  incarnation 
of  the  Son  of  God 

But  he  remains  always  patient  and  resigned 

Let  us  reflect  on  what  was  the  source  of  that  strength 
of  soul  he  possessed. 

Joseph  was  patient,  because  he  had  formed  to  himself  a 
just  idea  of  things;. ..  .because  he  was  humble; be- 

cause he  was  faithful  to  actual  graces,  which  God  propor- 
tions to  our  trials He  was  patient,  because  he  looked 

at  everything  from  the  point  of  view  of  faith 

Joseph  was  patient,  because  he  shared  the  same  senti- 
ments as  Mary; but,  above  all,  because  he  studied  to 

make  himself  like  to  Jesus 

Joseph  saw  Jesus  suffer,  and  he  foresaw  what  would  be 
the  sacrifice  of  Calvary.  An  imitator  of  Jesus,  he  could 
not  but  be  a perfect  model  of  patience. 

Fruits.— To  pray  to  God  when  any  affliction  comes  upon  us  ; to  think 
that  we  are  very  far  from  suffering  as  much  as  our  sins  deserve  ; to  look 
with  faith  upon  the  crucifix,  and  compare  our  sufferings  with  those 
which  Jesus  endured  for  us. 


TWENTY-EIGHTH  MEDITATION. 


OBEDIENCE  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“An  obedient  man  shall  speak  of  victory.’ ’ — Prov.  xxi.  28. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Without  obedience,  says  St.  Theresa,  there  are  no 
religious.  It  is,  then,  the  essential  virtue  of  our  state, 
and  consequently  the  one  we  should,  above  all,  en- 
deavor to  acquire.  On  that  account  it  will  be  exceed- 
ingly advantageous  to  us  to  meditate  on  the  obedience 
of  St.  J oseph,  and  consider  how  pure  and  holy  it  was 
in  its  source,  generous  in  its  practice,  and  marvellous 
in  its  effects.  We  shall  thus  learn  from  that  excellent 
model  from  what  motives  we  should  obey,  how  we 
should  obey,  and  what  advantages  we  should  hope 
for  as  fruits  of  our  obedience. 

St.  Joseph  was  obedient,  because  he  was  intimately 
persuaded  that  man  is  upon  earth  only  to  do  the  will 
of  God ; because  he  recognized  that  will  in  the  will  of 
those  whom  Providence  had  placed  over  him ; because 
he  desired  with  his  wThole  heart  to  pay  God  a worthy 
homage  through  the  sacrifices  of  his  judgment  and  his 
will ; because  he  strove  to  make  himself  like  to  Jesus 
Christ,  after  the  example  of  Mary,  with  whom  he  could 
contemplate  that  divine  model  for  so  many  years.  Ah ! 
how  could  he  but  have  the  greatest  esteem  for  obe- 
dience, when  he  saw  Jesus  Christ  make  himself  obedient 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


185 


to  all,  submissive  to  liim,  anticipate  bis  wishes,  and 
execute  faithfully  and  readily  all  that  he  commanded. 

Behold  the  principal  reasons  why  Joseph  obeyed. 
His  views  were  great  and  supernatural,  because  all 
had  relation  to  God.  Let  us  reflect  now  on  the  man- 
ner of  his  obedience,  and  understand  how  one  who  is 
truly  obedient  ought  to  act. 

Joseph  obeys  always,  because  the  motives  of  his 
obedience  being  of  a supernatural  and  unchangeable 
order,  were  always  equally  powerful,  and  even  more 
and  more  so,  upon  his  heart. 

Joseph  obeys  everything  commanded  him.  His 
obedience,  owing  to  the  disposition  in  which  he  is, 
embraces  all  that  it  may  please  God  to  command, 
and  extends  to  things  to  come,  even  to  such  as  are 
merely  possible.  That  faithful  servant  of  the  Most 
High  persevered  in  the  most  perfect  docility  of  heart, 
repeating  interiorly  these  words  of  Samuel:  Speak, 
Lord,  for  thy  servant  liearetli .*  His  whole  thought  was 
to  listen  to  the  divine  inspiration,  and  follow  its  move- 
ments. Obedience  was  his  element,  his  consolation, 
his  happiness.  He  does  not  want  for  a formal  order ; 
a sign  is  enough  for  him ; he  only  requires  to  know 
what  God  wishes  of  him,  and  immediately  he  is  ready 
to  do  it. 

J oseph  obeys  generously,  without  considering  what 
it  may  cost  him  to  do  what  is  commanded.  He  sacri- 
fices to  obedience  his  rest,  his  time,  his  property,  his 
country — all  for  which  he  could  have  any  affection  upon 
earth. 

J oseph  obeys  with  simplicity.  He  is  commanded  to 
* 1 Sam.  iii.  9. 


186 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


go  from  Nazaretli  to  Bethlehem ; he  submits  without 
making  any  observation  either  on  his  poverty,  or  on 
the  condition  of  Mary,  or  on  the  length  and  difficulties 
of  the  journey.  An  angel  tells  him  to  take  the  Child 
and  his  Mother,  and  go  into  Egypt;  he  shows  the 
same  submission.  Without  alleging  any  pretext,  with- 
out offering  any  delay,  he  arises  and  sets  out  with  the 
Infant  Jesus  and  the  most  holy  Virgin.  He  does  the 
same  when  he  is  told  to  return  to  the  land  of  Israel 
We  see  that  the  wish  to  execute  the  orders  of  God, 
whatever  they  may  be,  is,  as  it  were,  the  foundation  of 
his  obedience. 

Oh ! how  admirable  is  this  simplicity  of  obedience 
in  St.  Joseph!  Many  saints  have  made  strong  re* 
monstrances  against  being  burdened  with  the  responsi- 
bilities of  authority;  they  have  accepted,  as  if  by  a 
kind  of  force,  the  dignities  to  which  Providence  called 
them.  It  was  not  so  that  St.  Joseph  acted.  Although 
the  most  humble  of  the  servants  of  God,  nevertheless, 
he  loved  obedience  more  than  humility.  Therefore, 
when  God  the  Father  appoints  him  to  have  authority 
over  the  Queen  of  heaven  and  even  Jesus  himself,  he 
accepts  the  charge  without  making  any  remonstrance  ; 
he  goes  down,  it  is  true,  into  his  own  nothingness, 
acknowledging  himself  unworthy  to  be  even  the  slave 
of  the  august  persons  over  whom  God  places  him ; 
but  he  is  resigned  to  be  their  superior,  and  to  exercise 
the  duties  of  head  of  the  Holy  Family. 

Behold  to  what  a degree  St.  Joseph  carried  holy 
obedience.  Let  us  not  be  astonished  that  it  produced 
in  him  the  most  marvellous  effects.  Let  us  recall  to 
mind  some  of  them,  so  that  we  may  understand  how 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


187 


advantageous  it  is  for  man  to  be  perfectly  submissive 
to  God. 

Joseph,  by  his  obedience,  enjoyed  in  this  world  great 
peace  of  mind.  He  reposed  all  his  cares  on  Him 
whose  adorable  will  he  was  fulfilling.  He  always  said: 
“ I study,  O my  God,  to  do  only  what  you  command 
me.  The  care  of  the  issue  rests  with  you  alone.” 

Joseph,  by  his  obedience,  always  pleased  God,  who 
esteems  nothing  so  much  on  earth  as  souls  submissive 
to  his  will.  Oh ! how  this  good  Master  loved  him ! 
How  many  graces,  consequently,  he  gave  him.  To  these, 
by  the  very  effect  of  that  virtue  which  obtained  them 
for  him,  he  corresponded  faithfully,  and  drew  down, 
moreover,  a multitude  of  others. 

Joseph,  by  his  obedience,  formed  himself  to  the 
resemblance  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  thereby  acquired  the 
rights  which  alone  give  us  admittance  to  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  He  went  on  from  grace  to  grace,  from 
merit  to  merit.  Every  day  saw  him  more  pleasing  to 
God  than  the  day  previous,  until  that  last  day  of  his 
holy  life  arrived,  when  he  went  to  put  the  crown  to 
the  edifice  of  his  sanctity,  by  dying  in  dispositions  of 
perfect  obedience. 


APPLICATION. 

We  religious  have  the  most  numerous,  the  most 
urgent  reasons  to  make  us  perfectly  obedient.  Let  us 
enter,  then,  resolutely  on  that  path. 

Let  us  esteem  obedience — that  virtue  which  the  saints 
have  so  much  esteemed,  and  which  Jesus  Christ  has 
taught  us  in  so  excellent  a manner.  Let  us  often  cast 
our  eyes  on  that  adorable  model.  When  we  consider 


188 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


him  entering  into  this  world,  saying  to  his  Father,  “I 
come  to  do  thy  will when  we  see  him  so  submissive 
to  St.  Joseph  and  the  most  holy  Virgin ; when  we  re- 
member that  he  was  obedient  unto  death , even  to  the 
death  of  the  cross*  we  should  feel  ourselves  impelled 
to  the  exact  and  constant  practice  of  that  sublime 
virtue  ? 

Let  us  draw  it  from  the  same  sources  as  St.  Joseph, 
and  keep  it  with  the  same  fidelity.  Yes,  let  us  be  truly 
obedient ; let  us  be  such  always  and  in  all  things  ; let 
us  be  such  from  motives  of  faith ; let  us  be  such,  what- 
ever it  may  cost^  us.  Let  us  obey  promptly,  simply, 
and  generously.  Then  we  shall  be  sure  that  we  shall 
please  God ; that  we  shall  receive  the  most  singular 
graces ; that  we  shall  form  ourselves  to  the  likeness  of 
Jesus,  and  that  by  continuing  on  this  path  we  shall 
arrive  at  that  happy  goal  where  the  Christian  cele- 
brates his  victory  in  the  courts  of  the  heavenly 
J erusalem. 


PEAYEE. 

O Joseph,  who  has  so  perfectly  reproduced  in  your 
conduct  the  characteristics  of  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  ob- 
tain for  me  that  I may  imitate  you  as  much  as  my 
divine  Master  requires.  Grant,  by  your  intercession, 
that  I may  become,  after  his  example,  truly  obedient, 
so  that  my  soul  may  be  pleasing  in  his  eyes,  and  that 
he  may  deign  to  admit  me  to  celebrate  with  you  in 
heaven  the  victory  which  those  will  celebrate  there 
who  shall  have  practiced  from  motives  of  faith  the 
virtue  of  obedience. 


Philippians  ii.  8. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


189 


lit:  sum &. 

Obedience  belongs  to  the  very  essence  of  a religious 
life 

We  ought,  then,  to  use  every  effort  to  excel  in  the 
practice  of  that  virtue .... 

To  assist  ourselves  in  this,  let  us  meditate  on  the 
obedience  of  St.  Joseph,  and  consider  how  pure  and 
holy  it  was  in  its  motives,  perfect  in  its  practice,  and  pro- 
fitable in  its  results. 

Joseph  obeyed  through  a desire  to  please  God 

through  esteem  for  obedience  ;. . . .he  obeyed  with  a reso- 
lute will  to  make  himself  like  to  J esus  Christ What  an 

influence  the  example  of  the  obedience  of  Jesus  exercised 
upon  his  soul ! 

Joseph  obeyed  always,  and  in  all  things Joseph 

obeyed  promptly  and  generously — sacrificing  to  obedience 
his  rest,  his  life,  all  that  he  had,  seeking  his  own  interest 
in  nothing. 

Joseph  obeyed  with  simplicity,  he  made  no  observation, 
whatever  was  commanded  him 

Oh,  how  profitable  such  an  obedience  must  have  been ! 

By  it  he  pleased  God. . . .imitated  Jesus  Christ merited 

numberless  graces advanced  from  virtue  to  virtue  till 

he  attained  to  perfection. gained  the  throne  of  glory. 

which  he  now  occupies  in  heaven. 

Fruits. — To  meditate  often  on  the  obedience  of  Jesus  ; to  make  no 
observations  on  what  is  commanded  us  ; to  ask,  through  the  interces- 
sion of  St.  Joseph,  to  excel  in  obedience. 


TWENTY-NINTH  MEDITATION. 


INTERIOR  LIFE  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ I lifted  up  my  hands  to  thy  commandments,  which  I loved:  and  I 
was  exercised  in  thy  justification.” — Ps.  cxviii.  48. 


CONSIDERATION. 

The  interior  life,  as  the  masters  of  the  spiritual  life 
teach  us,  consists  essentially  in  the  greatest  separation 
possible  from  the  world,  and  in  a close  union  with  God 
through  all  our  faculties.  Now,  it  is  sufficient  to  have 
defined  it,  to  understand  that  St.  Joseph  excelled 
therein. 

In  truth,  that  holy  patriarch  had  none  but  the  most 
indispensable  intercourse  with  the  world — such  as  was 
necessary  for  the  duties  of  his  state,  and  to  relieve  the 
wants  of  the  Holy  Family.  Never  w^as  he  seen  to 
seek  or  take  part  in  frivolous  amusements.  "What  he 
loved  was  retirement  and  silence,  which  alone  favor 
union  with  God.  Moreover,  did  he  not  know  by  the 
Holy  Scripture  that  God  is  not  in  the  tumult,  that 
fervor  grows  w^eak  in  the  company  of  people  of  the 
world,  and  that  the  soul  loses  so  much  more  of  its 
supernatural  life  the  more  it  places  itself  in  intercourse 
with  outward  things  ? 

Besides,  what  had  he  to  do  with  this  w^orld  of 
misery,  he  who  occupied  by  his  mission  and  his  merits 
so  distinguished  a rank  in  the  world  of  grace?  Of 
wiiat  importance  were  the  affairs  of  time  to  him^  who 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


191 


was  in  relation  of  tlie  greatest  intimacy  with  the  Eter- 
nal God  ? 

Joseph,  therefore,  practiced  in  an  excellent  manner 
separation  from  the  people  of  the  world  ; he  practiced 
equally  well  union  with  God,  which  constitutes  the 
second  element  of  the  interior  life. 

Persuaded  of  this  great  principle,  established  equally 
by  reason  and  faith,  that  we  have  our  life  and  faculties 
only  for  God,  Joseph,  from  his  infancy,  made  it  his 
principal  occupation  to  think  of  God,  to  love  God,  to 
wish  what  God  wishes — that  is  to  say,  to  study  always 
to  be  united  to  God  in  soul  and  heart. 

But  how  strongly  was  he  incited  to  this  when  he 
lived  in  the  company  of  the  most  holy  Virgin,  and 
afterwards  in  that  of  Jesus  Christ  himself!  Mary 
meditated  unceasingly  on  the  mysteries  of  the  divine 
Infancy,  in  which,  after  God,  she  had  the  greatest 
share.  Joseph  imitated  her  in  this  respect,  because, 
though  in  a far  less  degree,  he  had  the  same  motives. 
His  heart  was,  therefore,  occupied  with  Jesus.  When 
he  could,  he  contemplated  with  the  eyes  of  his  body 
his  adorable  Saviour ; and  when  separated  from  him, 
he  nourished  his  mind  with  a remembrance  so  sweet 
and  consoling. 

Joseph  studied  the  Word  of  God  in  his  hidden  life. 
He  asked  himself  on  what  his  soul  meditated;  and 
knowing  that  it  was  constantly  admiring  the  great- 
ness of  God,  and  considering  the  moral  miseries  of 
fallen  humanity  and  the  means  to  restore  it  to  its 
rights,  he  studied  to  occupy  his  understanding  with 
the  same  objects — to  be  employed  interiorly  on  the  same 
subjects  on  which  the  soul  of  Jesus  Christ  was  employed. 


192 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


J oseph  united  himself  to  God  in  his  sentiments  in  a 
no  less  excellent  way.  Ah ! was  it  not  he,  above  all, 
who  could  repeat  these  words  of  David : For  what 
have  I in  heaven , and  besides  thee  what  do  I desire  upon 
earth  ?*  Let  us  remember  that  his  heart  burned  with 
the  same  flames  as  those  of  Jesus  and  Mary ; that  it 
never  turned  towards  the  things  of  earth ; that  it  loved 
but  Jesus,  and  what  Jesus  loved. 

Moreover,  what  else  could  Joseph  love,  since,  in 
truth,  there  is  nothing  truly  amiable  but  Jesus,  and 
what  Jesus  loves?  And  how  could  his  heart  take  any 
other  direction  when  the  divine  Being,  for  whom  alone 
we  are  created,  was  so  near,  and  exercised  all  his  in- 
fluence upon  his  soul  ? How  could  he  help  living  in 
the  exercise  of  pure  love,  when  the  God  of  love  was 
under  his  eyes,  and  faith  showed  him  his  adorable 
perfections  ? 

Joseph  was,  then,  united  to  God,  not  only  by  his 
thoughts,  but  by  his  sentiments.  His  affections,  his 
views,  his  wishes  all  tended  to  Jesus  alone.  His 
soul  was  placed  in  an  interior  solitude,  where  it  had 
no  attraction  but  Jesus,  no  conversation  but  with 
Jesus.  Disengaged  from  all  attachment  to  creatures, 
it  rose,  as  it  were,  naturally  towards  the  things  of 
heaven,  and  found  its  repose  in  the  contemplation  of 
its  beloved  Saviour.  This  was  manifested  exteriorly. 
The  look,  bearing,  tone  of  the  voice,  and  words,  re- 
vealed it  in  Joseph ; everything  in  him  announced  a 
soul  that  wished  and  sought  for  God  alone. 

Joseph  had  too  much  intercourse  with  Jesus  and 
Mary  not  to  live  that  interior  life.  If  he  listened,  it 
* Ps.  lxxii.  25. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSETII. 


193 


was  to  tlie  voice  of  Jesus  or  Mary ; if  lie  spoke,  it  was 
to  Jesus  or  Mary ; if  he  worked,  it  was  in  presence  of 
Jesus  and  Mary ; if  he  took  his  frugal  repast,  if  he 
gave  himself  any  relaxation,  if  he  journeyed,  it  was 
with  Jesus  and  Mary.  Let  us  not  be  astonished,  then, 
that  he  excelled  in  the  interior  life,  since  he  had  in 
Jesus  and  Mary  its  perfect  models,  and  the  subjects  to 
which  Christian  souls  ought,  above  all,  to  apply  all 
their  faculties. 

Finally,  let  us  consider  that  Joseph  found  the  great- 
est advantages  in  the  exercises  of  an  interior  life,  for 
by  their  means  he  became  from  day  to  day  more  de- 
tached from  the  world,  and  more  united  to  God.  He 
sanctified  all  his  actions,  and  gave  even  to  his  labor  the 
merit  of  a prayer  in  the  eyes  of  God.  He  drew  down 
graces  always  increasing  in  greatness,  and  experienced 
sometimes  ineffable  consolations. 

What  were  the  transports  of  his  holy  soul  at  the 
contemplation  of  the  Word  of  God — a little  child  con- 
fided to  his  care,  or  a simple  workman  laboring  with 
himself ! With  what  delights  did  he  not  feel  himself  in- 
undated, when  he  saw  himself  the  object  of  the  atten- 
tion, the  looks,  the  eager  care  of  his  Saviour ! Then, 
indeed,  might  he  have  used  these  words  of  the  Canti- 
cles : My  soul  melted  ivhen  he  spoke.* 

But  let  us  remark  that  St.  Joseph  did  not  always  ex- 
perience such  consolations,  which,  moreover,  are  not 
essential  to  an  interior  life.  Often,  indeed,  he  was  de- 
prived of  sensible  graces,  and  felt  the  pain  the  absence 
of  Jesus  causes  to  the  soul.  But  let  us  not  forget  that 
he  drew  all  the  advantages  which  the  exercise  of  an 

* Cant.  v.  6. 

9 


194 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


interior  life  produce,  when  they  are  done  as  they  ought 
to  be — advantages  which  result  to  advancement  in 
perfection,  to  progressive  approach,  to  that  state  in 
which  God  wishes  us  to  be  before  judging  us  worthy  to 
share  in  his  eternal  glory. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  give  ourselves  up,  as  much  as  possible,  to  the 
exercises  of  an  interior  life.  Let  us  shun  the  wTorld. 
We  are  separated  from  it  by  answering  to  our  vocation ; 
let  us,  then,  remain  separated. 

Let  us  lead  a life  of  retirement  and  silence.  Let  us 
not  communicate  with  persons  outside  but  from  pure 
necessity,  and  then  let  us  do  it  briefly  and  with  edi- 
fication. 

Let  us  honor  St.  Joseph  as  the  patron  of  interior 
souls,  and,  consequently : 1st,  let  us  meditate  on  him 
frequently,  to  form  our  conduct  by  his ; 2d,  let  us  ad- 
dress ourselves  to  him  with  confidence,  and  beg  of  him 
to  obtain  for  us  the  grace  of  loving  retirement  and 
silence,  and  of  persevering,  or  rather  of  progressing, 
in  union  with  God,  in  the  application  of  our  mind  and 
heart  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  what  has  reference  to  him ; 
3d,  if  wre  are  in  suffering,  or  spiritual  aridity,  let  us 
have  recourse  to  St.  Joseph,  for  he  has  at  his  disposal 
the  particular  graces  we  stand  in  need  of  in  that  state. 
We  shall  obtain,  by  his  intercession,  the  enjoyment 
again  of  all  the  advantages  of  an  interior  life,  and  even 
the  having  thereby  a foretaste  of  the  ineffable  delights 
with  which  God  recompenses  in  heaven  those  wTho  when 
on  earth  made  it  their  study  to  detach  their  hearts 
from  creatures  to  be  united  to  him. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


195 


PRAYER. 

We  cannot,  O holy  Joseph,  attain  to  the  sublime 
state  of  detachment  and  contemplation  to  which  it 
pleased  God  to  raise  you.  That  which  is  in  our 
power,  and  to  which  we  ought  to  tend,  is  to  imitate  you, 
by  keeping  ourselves  separated  from  the  world,  and 
united  to  God  in  spirit  and  heart.  Obtain  for  us  that 
we  may  live  an  interior  life,  and  grant  that  our  souls, 
by  their  union  with  Jesus,  may  be  made  worthy  to  be 
admitted  to  contemplate  him,  one  day,  with  you  in  his 
glory. 

b£sum£. 

The  interior  life  consists  : 1st,  in  retirement  and  silence; 
2d,  in  union  with  God  in  mind  and  heart.  Now  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  have  defined  it  to  understand  that.  St.  Joseph 
excelled  therein. 

Joseph  has  no  intercourse  with  the  world  but  what  was 
indispensable  ;. . . .he  remains  but  a short  time  . he 
hastens  to  return  to  his  home,  where  he  finds  Jesus  and 
Mary 

Joseph  observes  silence,  so  as  to  hear  the  interior  voice 
of  grace. . . .the  words  of  edification  of  the  most  holy  Vir- 
gin ....  the  teachings  of  Jesus .... 

Joseph  makes  it  his  study  to  think  of  God  and  the 

things  of  God; like  Mary,  he  meditates  on  the  great 

mysteries  that  are  wrought  beneath  his  eyes,  and  in  which 
he  has  so  large  a share .... 

Joseph  finds  in  that  separation  from  the  world  and  that 
application  to  God,  in  union  with  Jesus  and  Mary,  the 

greatest  advantages,  progress  in  perfection, increase  of 

merits, interior  consolations, strength  of  soul  un- 

der trials .... 

Fruits. — To  keep  silence  ; to  shun  the  world  ; to  be  very  faithful  to 
prayer. 


THIRTIETH  MEDITATION. 


PKUDENCE  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ A faithful  and  wise  servant  whom  his  Lord  hath  set  over  his  family.’ ’ 

— St.  Matt.  xxiv.  45. 


CONSIDERATION. 

"We  cannot  doubt  that  God,  who  wished  to  entrust 
Jesus  and  Mary  to  Joseph,  who  destined  him  to  be  the 
guardian  of  those  priceless  treasures,  communicated  to 
him  in  its  fulness  the  spirit  of  prudence,  as  he  had 
done  to  Joseph,  the  son  of  Jacob,  who  wTas  yet  called 
to  a mission  far  less  important. 

St.  Joseph  was  the  one  of  all  just  men  who  was  to 
represent  most  perfectly  the  guidance  of  Providence. 
Now  Providence  acts  with  number,  weight  and  mea- 
sure ; it  ordains  all  with  a view  to  the  end  proposed,  or, 
in  other  words,  it  does  nothing  but  according  to  the 
rules  of  prudence.  Joseph  was  the  worthy  steward 
of  the  divine  Father  of  the  family.  He  ought,  then,  to 
excel  in  prudence,  to  discern  what  was  profitable  or 
hurtful  to  the  interests  of  his  Master,  what  to  make 
use  of  or  abstain  from. 

Let  us  consider  him,  to-day,  in  the  exercise  of  that 
virtue,  and  leam  from  his  conduct  what  we  ought  to  do 
so  that  it  may  be  said  of  us  that  we  are  truly  prudent 
and  faithful  servants. 

Joseph,  from  a spirit  of  prudence,  takes  as  his  guide 
the  great  principles  of  faith.  Persuaded  that  he  was 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


197 


created  only  for  God,  lie  esteems,  seeks,  and  employs 
only  such  means  as  are  of  a nature  to  lead  him  to  God. 

Joseph,  from  a spirit  of  prudence,  watches  over  him- 
self, so  as  never  to  make  but  a holy  use  of  his  senses 
and  other  faculties.  He  remembers  that  the  sovereign 
Master  will,  one  day,  exact  from  all  his  servants  an  ac- 
count of  the  talents  entrusted  to  them,  and  which  they 
ought  to  have  made  use  of  for  his  glory. 

Joseph,  from  a spirit  of  prudence,  makes  a wise  use 
of  his  time.  Every  moment  of  a life  so  precious  is  to 
him  an  occasion  for  advancing  in  the  path  of  holiness, 
and  acquiring  merits  for  heaven.  He  is  perfectly  faith- 
ful to  grace,  because  he  knows  that  that  fidelity  deter- 
mines the  measure  of  eternal  happiness  with  which 
God  rewards  his  elect.  By  retirement,  he  keeps  his 
soul  attentive  to  what  the  Holy  Ghost  says  to  him  in 
the  depths  of  his  heart,  and  the  more  he  hears  that  salu- 
tary voice,  the  greater  is  his  docility  in  listening  to  it. 

Joseph,  from  a spirit  of  prudence,  prefers  in  every- 
thing that  which  c?an  lead  him  most  surely  to  God.  On 
that  account  he  chooses  to  be  poor  as  to  the  things  of 
this  world ; to  exercise  no  profession  but  one  without 
honor  before  man  ; to  remain  hidden  and  unknown  ; to 
live  in  forgetfulness  of  all,  knowing  that  the  soul  in  that 
state  has  much  more  facility  for  uniting  itself  to  God. 
From  the  same  cause,  he  follows  the  heavenly  inspira- 
tion which  leads  him  to  make  a vow  of  virginity,  and 
consecrate  himself  body  and  soul  to  the  service  of  the 
thrice-holy  God,  saying  to  him,  like  David : Thou  art 
the  God  of  my  heart , and  the  God  that  is  my  portion  for- 
ever* He  binds  himself  to  lead  an  angelic  life  upon 


Ps.  Ixxii.  26. 


198 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


earth  ; to  preserve  his  chastity  inviolate  ; strengthening 
himself  against  every  temptation  to  inconstancy  by  a 
sacred  promise,  solemn  and  irrevocable. 

Joseph,  from  a spirit  of  prudence,  endeavors  to  ar- 
rive at  perfection ; tends  towards  perfect  holiness ; 
always  goes  beyond  mere  obligation,  knowing  that  to 
be  generous  towards  God  is  the  surest  means  of  attract- 
ing his  graces  towards  us,  and  having  a share  in  his 
liberalities. 

But  not  only  does  Joseph  make  a wise  use  of  the 
means  calculated  to  lead  him  to  God,  he  takes  pre- 
cautions, moreover,  against  everything  that  could  be  a 
danger  or  an  obstacle  to  him  in  attaining  that  end. 
Acting  always  from  a spirit  of  prudence,  he  remains  as 
much  as  possible  in  retirement ; shuns  the  world,  so 
dangerous  to  innocence ; detaches  himself  from  it  in 
mind  and  heart ; remains  indifferent  to  its  pomps  and  a 
stranger  to  its  joys — testifying  thereby  that  he  under- 
stood all  the  truth  of  this  maxim  of  Holy  Scripture : He 
who  loves  the  danger  shall  perish  in  it .* 

Joseph,  then,  excelled  in  prudence  even  before  be- 
coming the  spouse  of  Mary ; how  much  more  when  he 
was  united  to  her  whom  the  Church  styles  “Most 
prudent  Virgin.”  It  was  then,  above  all,  that  he  perfectly 
understood,  by  the  example  and  words  of  his  most  holy 
spouse,  what  means  those  who  sincerely  wish  to  be 
united  to  God  make  use  of,  and  with  what  precautions 
they  surround  themselves  to  preserve  in  their  hearts, 
the  fire  of  his  holy  love  in  all  its  purity. 

But  let  us  see  him  in  the  exercise^  of  his  charge  as 
nursing-father  to  the  Child  Jesus.  How  is  his  pru- 
* Eccles.  iii.  27. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


199 


dence  manifested?  Does  it  not  seem  as  if  lie  liad 
addressed  to  God  the  Father  these  words  of  the  patri- 
arch Juda:  I take  the  hoy  upon  me,  require  him  at  my 
hand?*  With  what  care  he  watches  over  Jesns! 
What  precautions  he  takes  to  avert  danger  from  him  ! 
As  far  as  the  obligations  of  his  state  allow,  he  never 
tarns  his  thoughts  from  him ; his  intellect  is  employed 
in  thinking  what  he  ought  to  do  for  the  preservation  of 
the  divine  Child.  Let  us  remember  the  difficulties  he 
encountered  because  of  his  poverty  and  the  persecu- 
tions of  Herod,  and  how  he  surmounted  them  in  the 
most  perfect  manner.  Let  us  recall  to  mind,  above  all, 
his  flight  into  Egypt,  which  presented  so  many  dangers, 
and  his  return  to  Israel,  where*  he  settled  at  Nazareth, 
out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Archelaus,  and  let  us  be  con- 
vinced that  God  gives  us  in  our  glorious  patron  a per- 
fect model  of  prudence. 

Therefore,  when  the  Gospel  asks,  “ Who  is  the  faith- 
ful and  prudent  servant  to  whom  the  Lord  has  entrust- 
ed the  care  of  his  house  ?”  we  may  answer  with  all  cer- 
tainty that  that  servant  is  Joseph.  It  was  he,  above  all, 
who  knew  and  did  the  will  of  the  divine  Master,  who 
prepared  for  those  of  his  family  what  was  necessary 
for  them,  and  guarded  faithfully  the  deposit  committed 
to  his  care. 


APPLICATION. 

To  us,  also,  God  has  committed  a precious  deposit. 
That  deposit  is,  in  the  first  place,  our  own  soul,  with  the 
graces  necessary  to  make  it  worthy  of  its  eternal 
destiny  ; and  next  the  souls  of  our  pupils.  Now,  what 
® Gen.  xliii.  9. 


200 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


can  there  be  on  earth  of  so  great  a value,  or  which 
should  so  much  concern  us  ? 

It  is  necessary  for  us,  then,  to  excel  in  prudence. 
Should  not  each  of  us,  religious  and  teachers,  be  that 
faithful  and  prudent  servant  of  whom  the  Gospel 
speaks,  and  of  whom  God  has  given  us  in  the  person  of 
St.  Joseph  a perfect  model?  How  many  dangers  in  a 
spiritual  light  we  run  ! What  precautions  we  should, 
then,  make  use  of  to  fence  us  round,  and  keep  us  pure  ; 
to  preserve  us  in  fervor ; to  prevent  the  world,  with 
its  perverse  spirit,  from  entering  into  our  commu- 
nities ! 

What  precautions  are  necessary  for  us,  in  our  relations 
with  our  pupils,  that  we  may  not  find  danger  in  the 
very  exercise  of  our  duty!  What  prudence  we- need 
to  be  always  edifying  in  their  eyes ; to  say  nothing  and 
do  nothing  that  could  be  hurtful  to  them ! 

No,  none  have  more  need  than  we  of  prudence.  We 
must,  then,  after  having  asked  the  grace  of  God  through 
the  intercession  of  St.  Joseph,  apply  ourselves  without 
ceasing,  to  acquire  a virtue  so  necessary,  and  without 
wdiich  we  should  only  endanger  our  relations  with  our 
pupils,  and  even  our  own  salvation. 

PEAYEE. 

O Joseph,  who  wert  the  prudent  servant  whom  God 
placed  over  his  house,  remember  that  I belong  to  that 
house  of  the  Lord,  and  that  I have,  above  all,  need  of 
that  prudence  which  I admire  in  thee.  Deign,  then,  I 
beseech  thee,  to  obtain  it  for  me  by  your  intercession, 
that  I may  labor  in  safety  for  my  own  salvation,  and 
that  of  the  souls  confided  to  me. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


201 


R&S  UM&. 

The  prudent  man  discerns  and  chooses  what  is  best  cal- 
culated to  unite  him  to  God,  our  only  end. 

How  prudent  Joseph  was  ! . . . .what  a holy  use  he  made 
of  his  senses  and  other  faculties ! what  a prudent  em- 

ployment he  made  of  his  time,  always  so  precious ! . . . . how 
great  was  his  fidelity  to  grace ! . . . . 

In  all  things  he  preferred  what  led  him  most  surely 
to  God 

Joseph,  through  prudence,  places  himself  by  vow  under 
the  impossibility  of  giving  himself  to  the  world.  He  pre- 
vents all  inconstancy  by  a sacred  and  irrevocable  promise 
never  to  belong  to  any  but  God 

Joseph,  through  prudence,  lives  in  retirement,  separated 
in  mind  and  heart  from  the  world,  so  full  of  dangers.  He 

watches  over  his  senses,  and  particularly  his  eyes he 

remains  in  the  company  of  Jesus  and  Mary.... he  em- 
ploys himself  in  nothing  but  what  has  reference  to  his 
obligations .... 

How  many  precautions  he  takes  that  no  misfortune  may 
happen  to  the  divine  Infant  entrusted  to  his  care ! . . . . 

What  a beautiful  model  he  offers  us  in  his  own  person, 
to  us  who  are  religious  teachers,  and  on  whom  everything 
makes  it  imperative  that  we  should  excel  in  prudence 

Fruits. — To  employ  our  time  well ; to  observe  modesty  in  our  looks  ; 
to  follow  all  that  is  prescribed  in  the  essay  on  school  government,  under 
the  chapter  on  Prudence. 


THIRTY-FIRST  MEDITATION. 


GKATITUDE  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ What  shall  I render  to  the  Lord,  for  all  the  things  that  he  hath 
rendered  to  me?” — Ps.  cxv.  12. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Called  to  the  religious  life  by  a singular  and  wholly 
gratuitous  grace,  we  should  make  ourselves  highly 
culpable  in  the  eyes  of  God  if  we  did  not  oblige  our- 
selves to  testify  to  him  our  lively  and  sincere  gratitude, 
or,  rather,  if  that  virtue  did  not  exist  in  us  in  an  emi- 
nent degree.  Let  us,  then,  apply  all  our  energies  to 
develope  it  in  our  hearts,  and  to  excite  it  in  us.  Let  us 
consider  why  and  how  St.  Joseph  practiced  it.  Let  us 
see  the  motives,  the  object,  and  the  acts  of  his  grati- 
tude towards  God. 

St.  Joseph  was  grateful,  because  his  soul  was  en- 
lightened, his  heart  humble  and  upright.  He  under- 
stood, on  one  hand,  the  greatness  and  excellence  of  the 
gifts  of  God  ; and,  on  the  other,  looking  upon  himself 
as  without  any  merit  of  his  own,  he  made  of  each  of 
these  gifts  an  occasion  to  glorify  the  goodness  and 
generosity  of  their  Author. 

St.  Joseph  was  grateful,  because  his  heart  was  more 
than  any  other  like  to  the  heart  of  Mary.  Ah ! what 
must  have  been  the  gratitude  of  that  glorious  Virgin 
when  she  looked  upon  the  singular  graces,  the  privi- 
leges without  number,  with  which  God  had  favored 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


203 


lier.  When  she  understood  that  the  angel  of  God  could 
saj  to  her  in  all  truth  : Hail,  full  of  grace.  Yes,  that 
virtue  was  in  her  as  sublime  as  her  purity  and  her 
humility.  Besides,  we  have  an  admirable  proof  of  it 
in  the  Magnificat — that  sublime  canticle  wherein  she 
glorifies  the  God  of  goodness  for  the  favors  he  had 
heaped  upon  her. 

Now,  St.  Joseph,  a constant  witness  of  the  actions 
of  Mary,  could  not  but  admire  and  imitate  her  grati- 
tude. He  also  excelled  in  that  virtue,  and  he  said  in 
his  own  manner  : “ My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord, 
for  he  hath  regarded  the  humility  of  his  poor  servant ; 
he  who  is  almighty  hath  wrought  great  things  in  me, 
and  holy  is  his  name.” 

Joseph  found  a still  greater  motive  for  gratitude  in 
his  desire  to  make  himself  like  to  Jesus  Christ.  That 
holy  patriarch  saw  in  the  victims  of  the  old  law,  types 
of  the  only  true  Yictim  by  whom  the  world  was  to  be 
saved.  Now,  a great  number  among  those  were  eu- 
charistic,  being  offered  up  principally  to  thank  God 
for  his  graces.  Consequently,  he  understood  by  them 
that  the  great  mission  of  Jesus  Christ  was  not  only  to 
blot  out  the  sins  of  the  world,  but  to  acknowledge 
worthily  the  blessings  of  God.  He  understood  this, 
above  all,  when  he  studied  the  heart  of  the  divine 
Saviour,  and  considered  what  place  gratitude  occupied 
there.  To  what  perfection,  then,  did  he  carry  it  so  as 
to  make  himself  like  to  that  adorable  Model ! 

Such  was  the  gratitude  of  Joseph,  considered  in  its 
motives.  Let  us  reflect  now  on  what  was  the  sub- 
ject of  it. 

J oseph  was  grateful  for  the  blessings  in  the  natural 


204 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


order  which  he  had  received  from  Providence.  Re- 
flecting on  the  care  which  God  had  taken  of  him,  he 
blessed  him  for  his  kindness  shown  to  him. 

Persuaded,  however,  that  the  visible  world  is  but  an 
image  of  the  invisible  one,  and  a means  to  conduct  us 
thither,  Joseph  appreciated  the  least  spiritual  favors 
infinitely  more  than  temporal  ones.  Oh,  who  will  give 
us  to  know  the  sentiments  with  which  his  soul  was  pene- 
trated, when  he  considered  with  what  graces  God  had 
enriched  him  ; when  he  remembered  that  he  was  more 
favored  than  had  been  the  patriarchs  and  prophets ; 
when  he  saw  himself  raised  to  the  dignity  of  spouse  of 
Mary ; when  he  contemplated  the  Incarnate  Word 
' placed  under  his  authority,  confided  to  his  care,  obey- 
ing him  as  a most  tender  and  most  respectful  Son? 
Such  favors  called  for  and  produced  in  his  heart,  so 
well  disposed,  a gratitude  without  limits. 

But  St.  Joseph  was  grateful,  not  merely  for  the 
favors  of  which  he  was  personally  the  object.  He  had 
too  much  charity  not  to  consider  as  if  they  were  his  own, 
those  favors  which  Providence  granted  to  others.  On 
that  account,  he  thanked  God  for  the  natural  blessings, 
and,  above  all,  for  the  blessings  in  the  order  of  grace  of 
which  they  were  the  object.  When  he  saw  the  Sun 
of  justice  arise  on  the  world,  plunged  then  in  the  dark- 
ness of  sin,  he  eagerly  thanked  God  for  it  in  the  name 
of  all  humanity,  which  was  still  ignorant  of  that  ineffa- 
ble favor. 

St.  Joseph  found  the  greatest  subject  for  thanksgiving 
in  the  prerogatives  of  his  most  holy  spouse.  Who  will 
give  us  to  understand  how  he  thanked  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  had  adorned  her  wTith  all  the  sanctity  possible  for 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


205 


a creature,  and  liad  made  her  worthy  of  all  the  venera- 
tion of  men  and  angels ! 

St.  Joseph  was,  then,  grateful,  above  all,  for  the 
blessings  bestowed  upon  himself  personally,  for  those 
God  had  bestowed  upon  other  men,  and  for  the  pre- 
rogatives with  which  the  most  holy  Virgin  had  been 
favored.  Let  us  consider  now  the  acts  which  that 
sentiment  inspired. 

Joseph,  in  his  gratitude,  celebrates  the  goodness  and 
greatness  of  God ; excites  himself  to  love  him  more  and 
more,  and  to  consecrate  himself  without  reserve  to  his 
service.  In  imitation  of  all  the  just  of  the  old  law,  and 
especially  of  Moses  and  David,  he  extols  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  Most  High,  and  invites  all  creatures  to 
unite  in  praising  him,  and  rendering  him  the  just 
homage  which  his  benefits  deserve. 

But,  more  favored  than  them,  he  addresses  himself 
to  Mary,  the  most  perfect  of  creatures ; even  more  than 
this,  he  addresses  Jesus  himself,  and  asks  them  to  join 
him  in  hymns  of  thanksgiving.  What  a picture  is  that 
of  the  Holy  Family  singing  a hymn  of  gratitude,  re- 
peating the  words  in  which  the  Royal  Prophet  invites 
heaven,  earth,  and  sea  to  bless  the  Lord!  What  a 
prayer  of  thanksgiving  is  that  of  Joseph  when,  taking 
in  his  arms  the  Infant  God,  and  raising  him  towards 
heaven,  he  says  : “ I offer  you,  O eternal  Father,  in  the 
name  of  all  creatures,  the  true  Victim  of  thanksgiving. 
May  you  be  thanked  for  all  your  blessings,  and  be 
pleased,  in  the  name  of  Him  through  whom  I return 
you  thanks,  to  continue  them  to  earth.” 


206 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


APPLICATION. 

Let  us  be  attentive  to  tlie  blessings  of  God,  on 
which,  perhaps,  we  do  not  think  sufficiently.  Let  us 
open  the  eyes  of  our  soul  to  the  providential  cares  of 
which  we  are  the  object  at  every  instant.  We  feel  so 
clearly  what  we  want,  how  is  it  we  take  so  little  notice 
of  what  we  enjoy  ? 

Let  us  consider  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  God  of 
thanksgiving.  Let  us,  then,  through  him,  thank  his 
heavenly  Father  for  the  favors  heaped  upon  us.  Let  us 
thank  him  especially  for  our  vocation,  and  the  other 
favors  that  have  been  its  consequence.  But,  leaving 
ourselves,  let  us  thank  him  for  the  cares  bestowed  on 
our  families,  our  Institute,  and  the  Church.  Let  us 
thank  him  for  the  prerogatives  with  which  he  honored 
Mary,  our  good  Mother ; let  us  thank  him  for  those 
with  which  he  honored  St.  Joseph,  our  beloved  patron 
and  protector  ; let  us  thank  him  for  ourselves ; let  us 
thank  him  for  those  who  do  not  offer  thanks ; let  us 
thank  him  in  all  circumstances,  but,  above  all,  when 
we  have  the  happiness  to  approach  the  holy  altar,  and 
receive  the  God  of  thanksgiving  in  our  hearts. 

In  fine,  let  us  thank  St.  Joseph  for  his  protection 
towards  us  and  our  Institute,  and  still  more  for  his 
care  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  Yes,  let  us  feel  towards  him 
a great  gratitude.  But  let  us  not  forget  that  the  true 
mark  of  that  virtue  is  self-sacrifice.  Let  us  imitate 
that  of  St.  Joseph,  and  consecrate  ourselves  without 
reserve  to  the  service  of  God,  who  has  heaped  upon 
us  so  many  favors,  and  who  destines  for  us  still  greater 
in  that  abode  where  the  elect  sing  with  the  angels  the 
hymn  of  eternal  gratitude. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


207 


PRAYER. 

Who  will  give  me  to  thank,  if  not  as  much  as  he  de- 
serves, at  least  as  much  as  I can,  the  God  of  goodness, 
from  whom  I have  received  so  many  favors  ? It  will 
be  you,  O St.  Joseph,  who,  like  Mary,  are  a perfect 
model  of  gratitude.  Help  me,  I beseech  you,  to  know 
the  favors  of  God ; to  thank  him  for  them ; to  prove 
by  my  devotedness  that  his  favors  are  not  lavished  on 
a thankless  or  indifferent  soul.  Grant,  O Joseph,  that 
I may  be  admitted,  at  the  hour  of  my  death,  to  cele- 
brate with  you  the  mercies  of  God  in  the  mansion  of 
his  glory. 

r£sum£. 

What  ought  to  be  our  gratitude,  we  religious,  who  are 
overwhelmed  with  the  favors  of  Heaven  ? Let  us  act  so 
that  that  virtue  may  exist  in  us  as  in  St.  Joseph. 

Joseph  was  grateful:  1st,  because  he  had  a noble  and 
upright  soul;  2d,  because  his  heart  was  so  like  to  that  of 
Mary,  always  so  grateful  towards  God;. . . .3d,  because  he 
formed  himself  to  the  resemblance  of  Jesus  Christ,  who 
unceasingly  returned  thanks  to  his  Father 

Joseph  was  grateful  for  the  blessings  of  Providence  in 

the  natural  order and  for  the  gifts  of  grace  with 

which  he  was  favored ....  He  was  grateful  for  the  bless- 
ings of  God  upon  others and  in  a particular  manner 

for  the  prerogatives  of  Mary 

Joseph,  in  his  gratitude,  returns  God  thanks  in  hymns 
and  prayers,  and  thanks  him  in  union  with  Jesus  and 
Mary 

Oh  how  agreeable  to  God  was  his  prayer  of  thanks- 
giving ! . . . . 

Fruits. — Not  to  pass  a single  day  without  thanking  God  for  the 
grace  of  our  vocation  ; at  Mass,  let  us  unite  ourselves  with  Jesus,  con- 
sidered as  the  Victim  of  thanksgiving. 


THIRTY-SECOND  MEDITATION. 


PERSEVERANCE  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“Be  thou  faithful  until  death;  and  I will  give  thee  the  crown  of  life." 

— Apoc.  ii.  10. 


CONSIDERATION. 

It  is  not  enough  to  have  begun  well,  nor  even  to  have 
been  faithful  for  some  time ; we  must  keep  ourselves 
and  advance  in  the  path  of  virtue ; we  must  persevere 
and  persevere  until  the  end.  St.  Joseph  gives  us  an 
example  of  this. 

Let  us  hear  on  this  subject  the  amiable  St.  Francis 
of  Sales,  who  was  so  devout  to  St.  Joseph,  and  who 
considered  him  in  a particular  manner  in  relation  to 
his  perseverance  in  virtue.  “Perseverance,”  says  he, 
“ has  reference  to  a certain  interior  weariness  which 
comes  over  us  in  the  length  of  *our  sufferings,  and  which 
is  as  formidable  an  enemy  as  we  can  encounter.  That 
virtue  makes  a man  despise  his  enemy  in  such  a way 
as  to  come  forth  conqueror  through  unvarying  equa- 
nimity and  submission  to  the  will  of  God.” 

Oh  how  much  this  weariness  we  refer  to  must  have 
weighed  upon  St.  Joseph  during  his  sojourn  in  Egypt ! 
The  angel  had  not  told  him  the  time  he  was  to  remain 
there,  so  that,  not  knowing  when  he  would  be  ordered 
to  return,  he  could  not  establish  a settled  home  there. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


209 


Moreover,  wliat  must  have  been  liis  desire  to  return  to 
Israel,  through  the  constant  fear  in  which  he  lived 
among  the  Egyptians ! "Weariness  must,  no  doubt, 
have  greatly  afflicted  and  tormented  his  loving  heart. 
Nevertheless,  that  holy  patriarch  remains  constantly 
the  same — always  mild,  tranquil,  and  constant  in  his 
submission  to  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  to  whose 
guidance  he  completely  abandoned  himself. 

“ God  wills  that  Joseph  should  be  poor.  He  submits 
to  it,  not  for  a time  only,  but  for  his  whole  life.  He 
most  humbly  resigns  himself  to  continue  in  his  poverty 
and  lowliness,  without  _ allowing  himself  to  be  con- 
quered by  interior  weariness,  which,  no  doubt,  made 
many  attacks  on  him.  He  remained  always  constant 
in  his  submission,  which,  like  all  his  other  virtues,  was 
always  increasing  and  becoming  perfect.” 

Thus,  however  little  we  reflect  on  the  traits  that 
characterize  St.  Joseph,  we  easily  discover,  as  the  holy 
Bishop  of  Geneva  shows,  that  not  only  did  he  begin 
the  good  that  God  required  of  him,  but  that  he  con- 
tinued and  completed  it  without  ever  giving  way  to  dis- 
couragement. That  he  was  not,  as  we,  alas ! too  fre- 
quently are,  a reed  to  be  shaken  by  the  wind  of  incon- 
stancy, but  like  that  tree  of  which  the  Boyal  Prophet 
speaks,  that  is  planted  by  the  running  waters,  and 
which  acquires  from  day  to  day  more  firmness  and 
strength. 

St.  Joseph  had  an  upright  spirit,  an  enlightened  in- 
tellect. He  understood  that  God  and  our  relations  with 
him  do  not  change,  and  that  there  can  be  no  lawful 
motives  for  ceasing  to  serve  so  good  a Master ; that 
man  should  always  be  virtuous,  and  apply  himself  to 


210 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


become  such  more  and  more,  because  he  lias  always  to 
glorify  God,  to  save  his  soul,  to  acquire  merits,  and  to 
procure  the  salvation  of  his  neighbor  as  much  as  in  his 
power.  Joseph  had  said,  when  consecrating  himself  to 
the  Lord,  “You  are,  O my  God,  my  portion  forever;” 
how,  then,  could  he  have  thought  of  serving  him  only 
for  a certain  period  of  this  life,  which  is  at  best  so 
short  and  uncertain  ? 

St.  Joseph  was  the  most  faithful  and  the  most  pru- 
dent of  the  servants  of  God ; he  must,  then,  have  had 
perseverance.  No  servant,  however  devoted  he  may 
have  been,  deserves  praise  until  he  has  reached  the 
end ; no  one  is  faithful  until  he  has  persevered  in  his 
fidelity.  Joseph,  to  whom  the  Church  gives  the  title 
of  faithful  servant,  never  ceased,  therefore,  to  be  wholly 
devoted  to  God.  Moreover,  as  he  was  prudent,  he 
took  care  not  to  abandon  the  good  he  had  begun,  and 
thus  lose  the  merits  of  his  past  life  which  he  had 
sanctified  by  so  many  acts  of  virtue. 

St.  Joseph  was  just,  and,  as  such,  rendered  worthy 
homage  to  God.  But  worthy  homage  to  an  immutable 
God  should  evidently  be  durable  and  permanent.  St. 
Josejih  was  also  just  in  this  sense,  says  St.  Francis  of 
Sales,  that  his  will  was  perfectly  united  to  that  of  God 
in  all  circumstances,  prosperous  or  adverse.  But  the 
will  of  God  not  changing,  he  could  not  be  united  to  him 
and  consequently  deserve  the  title  of  Just,  but  by  per- 
severance. 

St.  Joseph  was  perfectly  grateful  for  the  favors  of 
God,  and  made  out  of  them  the  motive  for  devoting 
himself  to  the  service  of  the  Lord.  But  these  favors 
unceasingly  increasing  in  number,  his  devotedness,  fat 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


211 


from  diminishing,  became  from  day  to  day  more  per- 
fect ; and  thus  his  gratitude,  like  his  justness,  proves 
his  perseverance. 

St.  Joseph  participated  in  the  interior  dispositions 
of  Jesus  and  Mary.  Ah!  how  could  he  come  short, 
when  he  saw  the  Incarnate  Word  persevere  in  humility, 
penance,  and  labor,  and  not  wishing  to  deviate  from 
the  career  of  abjection,  poverty,  and  sufferings  he  had 
chosen?  Was  he  not  incited  also  by  Mary’s  example, 
who,  like  the  morning  sun,  not  only  did  not  go  back- 
ward, but  threw  out  more  and  more  rays  of  sanctity, 
and  shone  more  brightly  with  the  splendor  of  God. 

No,  no,  it  could  not  be  that  Joseph  should  prove  in- 
constant in  virtue.  He  was  too  well  persuaded  that 
discouragement  is  a deplorable  weakness — a concession 
of  the  spirit  to  the  flesh — a most  sensible  outrage  to  the 
heart  of  God,  because  it  implies  a want  of  confidence 
in  his  assistance — a consent  to  a most  dangerous  tempt- 
ation— an  abandonment  of  spiritual  riches  already 
acquired.  Besides,  St.  Joseph  was  not  ignorant  how 
unhappy  inconstant  persons  are,  who  are  always  hesi- 
tating, do  little  or  no  good,  and  suffer  the  anguish  of 
a constant  state  of  doubt.  They  commence  everything 
without  finishing  anything,  and  arrive  at  the  end 
of  their  lives  without  having  yet  seriously  undertaken 
the  work  of  their  sanctification.  How,  with  such  con- 
victions, could  he  have  suffered  himself  to  be  dis- 
heartened ? It  is  most  true,  then,  that  he  is  a model 
of  perseverance. 

Let  us  give  glory  to  St.  Joseph  for  his  perseverance, 
and  thank  God  for  having  given  him  the  grace  of  it. 
Let  us  think  how  that  good  Master  offers  us  also  that 


212 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


inappreciable  grace,  and  that  nothing  is  of  more  im- 
portance to  us  than  to  make  ourselves  faithful  to  it. 

Let  us  never  yield  to  temptations  of  discouragement. 
Let  us  combat  them  by  prayer,  by  the  renewal  of  our 
baptismal  vows,  and,  as  far  as  is  permitted  us,  by  that 
of  our  vows  of  religion.  Let  us  combat  them,  above 
all,  by  fervent  communions,  for  it  is  principally  the 
divine  Eucharist  which  makes  the  strength  of  our  souls, 
and  gives  us  constancy  in  virtue. 

Let  us  ask,  through  the  intercession  of  St.  Joseph, 
grace  to  continue  and  complete  the  good  we  have  be- 
gun, so  as  to  obtain  final  perseverance — that  is  to  say, 
the  grace  which  alone  puts  in  our  hands  our  titles  to  a 
heavenly  inheritance,  according  to  these  words  of  Jesus 
Christ:  He  that  shall  persevere  to  the  end , he  shall  he 
saved.* 

PEAYEE. 

I entreat  you,  O glorious  St.  Joseph,  to  obtain  for 
me,  by  your  intercession,  constancy  in  virtue,  by  which 
alone  I can  please  God  and  obtain  the  heavenly  crown. 
Help  me,  O my  Father,  so  that,  never  allowing  myself 
to  give.,  way  to  discouragement,  I may  keep  myself  and 
advance  unceasingly  in  the  path  of  virtue,  and  thus 
obtain  the  grace  of  final  perseverance. 

ntismib. 

God  gives  us  in  St.  Joseph  an  admirable  model  of  per- 
severance ....  That  holy  patriarch  experiences  much  weari- 
ness and  suffering,  but  he  never  loses  heart.  He  remains 
always  true  to  himself,  tranquil  and  submissive  to  the 
good  pleasure  of  God. . . . 

° St.  Matt.  xxiv.  13. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


213 


He  understood  well  that,  as  God  is  unchangeable,  it  is 
our  duty  always  to  serve  him. . . . A faithful  and  prudent 
servant,  he  persevered  in  his  fidelity,  and  he  was  careful 
not  to  renounce,  through  want  of  courage,  the  spiritual 
riches  he  had  acquired .... 

A just  man,  he  paid  to  the  unchangeable  God  a per- 
manent homage Possessed  of  a grateful  heart,  he  did 

not  cease  to  prove  his  devotion  to  God,  since  he  never 
ceased  to  receive  fresh  benefits 

Moreover,  he  was  a witness  of  the  perseverance  of  Jesus 
and  Mary  in  their  career  of  labor,  humiliation,  and  suffer- 
ing. Could  he  not  imitate  them  ? . . . . 

Let  us  ask  ourselves  if  we  have  the  same  motives  for 
perseverance,  and  if  they  make  us  truly  constant  in  virtue. 

Let  us  reflect,  besides,  on  what  we  do,  to  obtain  the 
grace  of  final  perseverance. 

Fruits. — To  thank  God  for  the  grace  of  our  vocation  ; to  ask  him, 
through  St.  Joseph,  that  we  may  he  always  faithful  to  it ; never  to  yield 
to  weariness,  to  combat  it  by  labor,  prayer,  and,  above  all,  fervent  com- 
munions. 


THIRTY-THIRD  MEDITATION. 


THE  HEART  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“My  heart  is  ready,  0 my  God,  my  heart  is  ready.” — Ps.  cvii.  2. 


CONSIDERATION. 

When  God  wishes  to  raise  any  one  to  a high  dignity, 
to  entrust  to  him  a great  mission,  he  munificently  en- 
dows him  with  all  the  graces  he  requires  to  acquit  him- 
self well  in  it.  Thus  it  was  he  acted  with  St.  Joseph, 
whom  he  destined  to  be  the  spouse  of  the  most  holy 
Virgin,  and  the  nursing-father  of  the  Child-God. 

Therefore,  the  heart  of  that  holy  patriarch  was  en- 
dowed from  his  earliest  years  with  the  most  excellent 
qualities,  which,  through  his  fidelity  to  grace  and  the 
salutary  influence  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  constantly  in- 
creased, and  at  last  attained  to  the  highest  degree  of 
perfection. 

God  is  love*  says  the  Holy  Scripture.  Now,  he  com- 
municated himself,  as  it  were,  without  reserve  to  him 
whom  he  had  chosen  to  be  his  representative  with  his 
beloved  Son.  Joseph  must,  therefore,  have  been  all 
love — must  have  had  a heart  conformable  to  that  of 
God — being,  as  it  were,  the  source  of  the  most  active 
and  pure  flames  of  charity.  In  consequence  of  this 
gift  of  God,  his  heart,  so  loving,  must  have  been  also 
full  of  respect,  piety,  goodness,  gratitude,  and  adorned 
with  the  purest  and  noblest  sentiments. 

* St.  John  iv.  8. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


215 


The  heart  of  Joseph  did  not  leave  the  gifts  of  God 
unproductive  within  it,  but  made  them  bring  forth 
fruit  more  and  more  by  his  fidelity  to  grace.  It  pro- 
duced affections  each  day  increasing  in  fervor  and  holi- 
ness, until  God  judged  it  worthy  to  be  placed  in  imme- 
diate relation  with  the  heart  of  Mary,  under  whose  in- 
fluence he  advanced  still  more  in  perfection,  and  was 
thus  to  be  participator  of  all  her  riches. 

Oh  who  can  understand  the  holy  impressions  that  he 
receives  from  her  ? Who  can  conceive  how  the  senti- 
ments of  that  heart,  so  well  disposed,  are  transformed 
by  the  effect  of  its  union  with  that  of  the  most  holy 
Virgin,  whom  the  Church  calls  the  mother  of  fair  love, 
or  of  holy  love,  and  to  whom  Joseph  made  it  his  whole 
study  to  acquire  a resemblance  ? 

Yet  the  heart  of  that  great  saint  becomes  still  more 
perfect  by  the  influence  of  the  heart  of  Jesus.  If  the 
intercourse  of  a few  moments  with  that  loving  Saviour 
could  change  so  completely  the  heart  of  Zacheus,  or  of 
Mary  Magdalene,  what  must  have  been  the  power  of 
that  influence  upon  Joseph,  who,  for  thirty  years,  had 
the  most  intimate  relations  with  him,  and  who  was  so 
inclined  to  love  and  gratitude  ? 

That  holy  patriarch  saw  Jesus  at  his  birth,  and  he 
saw  that  it  was  through  love  that  the  Word  of  God 
assumed  our  nature — that  we  must  seek  in  his  divine 
heart  for  the  chief  motive  for  his  coming  into  this 
world,  and  then  he  felt  himself  on  fire  with  the  most 
active  and  constant  flames  of  love  and  gratitude. 

He  contemplated  for  so  many  years  the  adorable 
Saviour  living,  working,  and  journeying  with  him  ! He 
heard  his  divine  words ; he  admired  his  sublime  exam- 


216 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


pie,  his  sufferings,  his  fatigues,  his  humiliations ! He 
saw  him  praying  and  entreating  the  heavenly  Father 
to  have  pity  on  the  children  of  men  and  save  them,  and 
offering  himself  as  a victim  of  expiation  for  the  sins  of 
the  whole  human  race ! 

Ah ! if  hard  hearts  like  ours  are  sometimes  pene- 
trated with  emotions  at  the  mysteries  of  the  divine  In- 
fancy, what  must  not  that  of  St.  Joseph  have  experi- 
enced in  the  prolonged  contemplation  of  those  miracles 
of  love,  by  which  God  wished  to  descend  to  our  little- 
ness, the  better  to  make  us  comprehend  our  weakness ; 
to  be  laid  in  a crib,  to  bewail  with  tears  over  our  mis- 
fortunes, to  undergo  all  our  miseries,  to  expiate  in  his 
immaculate  flesh  the  sins  of  our  guilty  flesh ! What 
sentiments  penetrated  the  soul  of  the  nursing-father 
of  Jesus,  when,  holding  him  in  his  arms  and  pressing 
him  to  his  breast,  he  felt  the  breathings  of  the  most 
holy  heart  of  that  adorable  Child  ! 

No,  it  could  not  be  but  that,  under  the  influence  of 
grace  and  the  influence  of  the  hearts  of  Jesus  and 
Mary,  the  heart  of  Joseph  should  be  enlarged,  and 
develope  in  perfection  the  qualities  with  which  he  was 
endowed. 

Delivered  from  every  disorderly  or  even  purely 
natural  affection,  Joseph  loves  God  with  all  his 
strength,  and  thus  fulfils  the  first  commandment  of  the 
law ; he  loves  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  loves  in  him  both 
his  God  and  his  adopted  son.  He  loves  the  most  holy 
Virgin  Mary,  in  whom  he  honors  the  beloved  daughter 
of  God  the  Father,  the  great  Mother  of  God  the  Son, 
the  glorious  spouse  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  most 
perfect  of  pure  creatures.  He  loves  all  men,  whom  he 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


217 


views  in  their  relation  to  God.  The  heart  of  Joseph 
was,  therefore,  a furnace  of  pure  love.  Identified,  so 
to  say,  with  the  hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  he  loves 
nothing  but  for  motives  based  upon  God,  and  at  bot- 
tom he  loves  but  God  alone.  Therefore,  after  Mary’s, 
his  heart  is  the  most  perfect  image  of  the  divine  heart 
of  Jesus. 

The  heart  of  Joseph  was  tried  by  affliction,  and  knew 
what  it  was  to  suffer.  It  is,  therefore,  full  of  compas- 
sion for  our  miseries — participating  in  the  sentiments 
of  him  who  being  God,  yet  wished  through  compassion 
for  us  to  take  upon  himself  our  sufferings. 

The  heart  of  Joseph  was  deeply  grateful  not  only  to 
God,  but  to  man.  He  testified  in  all  circumstances 
that  he  appreciated  a kindness,  and  that  he  religiously 
cherished  the  remembrance  of  it. 

The  heart  of  Joseph  was  full  of  patience,  courage, 
and  generosity.  His  devotedness  was  always  eager, 
filling  him  with  zeal,  for  God  required  of  him  whatever 
sacrifices  it  might  cost.  As  to  himself,  no  hesitation 
arose  when  a good  act  was  to  be  done. 

His  heart  possessed  the  most  excellent  qualities,  and 
has  been  extolled  by  all  authors,  who  have  dwelt  on 
this  subject.  They  have  called  it,  in  truth,  a garden 
enclosed  for  the  world,  open  only  for  Jesus  and  Mary 
— a sanctuary  wherein  the  Holy  Ghost  made  it  his 
delight  to  dwell — a living  well-spring  of  the  purest 
joys — the  triumphal  car  of  true  charity — an  altar  where- 
on burned  day  and  night  an  ever-increasing  fire  of 
divine  love. 

Let  us  honor  that  heart.  Besides,  does  not  this 

seem  a consequence  of  the  worship  we  pay  to  the 

10 


218 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary?  Where  Jesus  and  Mary 
are,  why  should  not  J oseph  be  there  also,  since  nothing 
prohibits  it?  Does  he  not  form  with  them  that 
earthly  Trinity  which  is  the  object  of  the  veneration 
of  all  the  faithful,  and  of  which  can  be  said,  with 
more  truth  than  of  the  first  Christians,  that  they  had 
hut  one  heart  and  one  soul  /* 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  often  have  recourse  to  the  heart  of  Joseph ; 
it  is  that  of  our  protector,  our  friend,  our  father.  We 
shall  there  find  a refuge  in  our  dangers,  a consolation 
in  our  sufferings,  a source  of  strength  in  our  weakness, 
and  seasons  of  discouragement. 

Let  us  study  to  make  our  hearts  conformable  to  that 
of  Joseph.  Let  us  raise  all  our  affections  to  God  ; let 
us  love  nothing  but  God,  and  for  God.  Let  us  guard 
our  hearts  as  Joseph  guarded  his.  Let  us  not  suffer 
creatures  to  turn  aside  the  affections  we  ought  to  re- 
serve for  Jesus  and  Mary. 

Happy  are  those  who  are  in  heart  like  to  Joseph ! 
God,  to  recompense  them,  will  fill  them  with  the 
greatest  joy  in  that  kingdom,  where  he  shows  himself 
such  as  he  is  to  those  who  have  kept  their  hearts  pure. 

PEAYEE. 

O Joseph,  we  beseech  you,  by  your  love  for  Jesus 
and  Mary,  to  obtain  for  us  the  grace  of  loving  only 
Jesus  and  Mary — like  you,  O loving  father,  who  had 
a most  perfect  resemblance  to  our  divine  Saviour 
and  his  most  holy  Mother.  Grant,  by  your  interces- 
* Acts  iv.  32. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


219 


sion,  that  our  hearts  may  be  truly  the  temples  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  that  never  may  any  other  flame  be 
enkindled  there  than  that  of  divine  love. 

Rbsmiti. 

With  what  qualities  was  the  heart  of  Joseph  endowed 
in  the  beginning ! .... 

How  they  were  developed  by  his  correspondence  to 
grace.... by  the  effect  of  the  influence  of  the  heart  of 
Mary,  and,  above  all,  by  that  of  Jesus! 

The  heart  of  Joseph  participated  in  all  the  sentiments 
of  the  heart  of  Mary.... it  participated  in  an  excellent 
degree  in  those  of  the  heart  of  Jesus 

What  love  must  have  been  excited  therein  when  the 

holy  patriarch  beheld  Jesus  a child when  he  pressed 

him  to  his  heart ! . . . . 

Let  us  consider  that  that  same  heart  was  full  of  love 
and  compassion  for  men ....  deeply  grateful  for  all  favors 
of  which  it  was  the  object, ....  docile, patient, . , . .gen- 

erous, ....  and  of  an  unlimited  devotedness. 

Let  us  honor  it,  then,  with  a true  worship,  and  so  act 
that  ours  may  possess  the  qualities  we  admire  in  it 

Fruits. — To  produce,  in  union  with  St.  Joseph,  numberless  acts  of 
love  for  J esus  and  Mary  ; to  watch  over  our  hearts,  not  to  allow  any 
other  affection  than  that  of  divine  love  to  exist  there. 


THIRTY-FOURTH  MEDITATION. 


OUR  DUTIES  TOWARDS  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“Thou  shalt  be  over  my  house.” — Genesis  xli.  40. 


CONSIDERATION. 

As  Christians,  and  still  more  as  religious,  we  ought 
to  honor  St.  Joseph;  to  thank  him  for  his  protection ; 
to  pray  to  him  with  fervor  and  confidence ; to  strive  to 
reproduce  in  our  conduct,  the  virtues  he  practiced  with 
so  much  perfection. 

"We  ought  to  honor  St.  Joseph,  because  he  was  hon- 
ored in  an  ineffable  manner  by  the  three  persons  of  the 
Most  Holy  Trinity. 

God  the  Father  chose  him  to  be  his  substitute  with 
his  Word,  who  was  to  make  himself  man  to  save  man- 
kind. He  was  charged  equally  to  represent  him  with 
Mary,  his  beloved  daughter,  through  whom  the  Saviour 
wras  to  be  given  to  the  world.  God  the  Son  respected 
him  more  than  ever  child  respected  his  father.  God 
the  Holy  Ghost  put  him  in  his  place  near  Mary.  He 
wished  him  to  be  the  true  spouse  of  the  Immaculate 
Virgin,  the  guardian  of  her  purity,  her  companion,  her 
protector,  her  support.  He  adorned  him  for  this  pur- 
pose with  all  the  gifts  of  grace,  and  made  him,  after 
Mary,  the  masterpiece  of  his  hands. 

It  is  true,  then,  that  Joseph  was  honored  by  the 
Most  Holy  Trinity  ; that  he  was  just,  and  that,  conse- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


221 


quently,  all  creatures  should  pay  him  a true  worship  of 
honor. 

But  to  these  reasons  how  many  others  must  be 
added ! Thus  we  glory  in  being  the  servants  of  Mary, 
and  entering  into  the  practices  of  her  devotion  ; but  is 
not  the  most  essential  part  the  imitation  of  that  good 
Mother  as  much  as  possible  ? Now,  Mary  honored  St. 
Joseph.  She  respected  him,  she  obeyed  him,  she  con- 
sidered him  as  placed  by  God  over  her.  To  walk  in  her 
footsteps,  we  also  must  honor  him  as  much  as  possible. 

We  should  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  Church.  Now, 
is  not  the  Church  anxious  to  honor  St.  Joseph  ? Do 
we  not  see  her  day  after  day  add  some  new  favors  to 
devotions  practiced  in  his  honor,  and  to  propagate  it 
more  and  more  among  the  people  ? 

We  should  act  in  conformity  with  the  spirit  of  our  In- 
stitute. Now,  our  Institute  pays,  and  has  always  paid 
from  its  commencement,  a most  special  honor  to  St. 
Joseph. 

Everything  leads  us  to  the  performance  of  this  im- 
portant duty — that  is  to  say,  to  honor  and  venerate  St. 
Joseph.  We  must,  in  the  second  place,  have  a great 
gratitude  to  him  for  the  graces  he  has  obtained  for  us, 
and  especially  for  that  of  our  vocation,  in  which  he  has 
had  so  large  a share. 

We  do  not  know  precisely  how  much  we  are  indebted 
to  him.  It  is  a secret  that  will  not  be  revealed  to  us  until 
the  great  day  ; but  let  us  not  doubt  that  he,  to  whom 
God  entrusted  the  care  of  all  his  house,  has  bestowed 
special  favors  upon  us  that  call  for  our  sincerest  thanks. 

Let  us  be  grateful  for  his  protection  extended  to  our 
Institute — our  spiritual  family,  which  owes  to  him, 


222 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


after  Mary,  its  preservation,  its  progress,  the  favors  it 
enjoys,  the  condition,  in  which  it  is,  to  be  able  to  w^ork 
so  much  good  among  souls.  Let  us  be  grateful  for  his 
care  of  Mary,  our  good  and  loving  mother.  Ah  ! let 
us  remember  all  that  he  has  done  for  that  loving  Virgin- 
Mother  of  God,  to  be  whose  adopted  children  we  reckon 
as  one  of  our  most  glorious  titles.  Let  us,  above  all, 
be  grateful  to  him  for  his  care  of  the  Infant  Jesus,  who 
ought  to  be  infinitely  dearer  to  us  than  we  are  to  our- 
selves, and  for  wdiom  he  sacrificed  himself  without 
reserve. 

But  to  these  motives  for  gratitude  can  we  not  add 
others  peculiar  to  ourselves  ? Do  we  owe  nothing  to 
St.  Joseph  for  favors  obtained  for  our  relations  and 
friends  ? For  instance,  have  we  not  prayed  to  him  for 
persons  who  were  dear  to  us,  and  whom  we  saw  at  the 
point  of  death  ? Has  not  our  heart  known  afterwards 
these  consoling  words,  that  their  souls  were  pleasing 
to  God  on  leaving  this  wrorld,  because  St.  Joseph  had 
obtained  for  them  the  grace  of  a happy  death  ? Oh ! 
let  us  be  well  persuaded  that  we  owe  our  holy  patron  a 
deep  debt  of  gratitude. 

Let  us  consider,  in  the  third  place,  that  we  ought  to 
invoke  him  with  confidence  and  fervor. 

St.  Joseph  has  care  of  the  great  family  of  the  Church. 
He  is  always  inclined  to  do  us  good,  for  his  heart  par- 
ticipates in  the  goodness  of  the  heart  of  Jesus  and  the 
tenderness  of  the  heart  of  Mary.  He  has  unbounded 
influence  with  his  adopted  son,  who  refuses  nothing 
to  his  prayers.  We  should,  then,  have  recourse  to  him 
with  the  most  perfect  confidence. 

Let  us  think  that  God  encourages  us  to  do  so, 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


223 


by  saying  to  us  those  words  of  Pharaoh  to  the  Egyp- 
tians, Go  to  Joseph  * and  that  experience  proves  how 
efficacious  are  the  prayers  addressed  to  him.  Let  us 
recall  to  mind  what  St.  Theresa  affirms  on  this  subject: 
“ St.  Joseph,”  says  she,  “ always  heard  me  beyond  my 
prayers  and  my  hopes.  I do  not  remember  to  have 
asked  him  anything — above  all,  on  the  day  of  his 
feast — which  he  did  not  grant  me.” 

We  ought,  in  the  fourth  place,  to  follow  St.  Joseph  as 
far  as  in  our  power,  for  it  is  principally  by  imitation  of  the 
saints  that  our  devotion  to  them  should  be  manifested. 

Let  us  hear  our  holy  patron  saying  to  us  from  on 
high  : Blessed  are  they  that  keep  my  ways.f  Let  us  not 
forget  to  keep  the  ways  of  St.  Joseph — that  is,  to  form 
ourselves  to  his  likeness ; to  force  ourselves  to  become, 
like  him,  very  chaste,  humble,  obedient,  interior,  re- 
signed to  the  will  of  God  ; patient  in  trials,  and  grateful 
for  the  graces  which  God  accords  us.  To  shun  the 
world ; to  despise  its  pleasures ; to  combat  its  maxims ; 
to  abhor  its  pomps  and  vanities  ; to  lead  a penitent  and 
laborious  life  ; to  work  only  for  J esus  and  Mary.  In  a 
word,  to  believe  in  justice,  and  to  advance  courageous- 
ly towards  perfection,  which  is  the  end  of  our  state. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  enter  with  zeal  into  the  practice  of  our  four 
principal  duties  in  regard  to  St.  Joseph. 

Let  us  honor  him  by  congratulating  him  on  his  pre- 
rogatives and  his  virtues ; by  celebrating  his  feast  with 
fervor  and  joy ; by  consecrating  to  him  one  month  in 
the  year,  one  day  in  the  week.  Let  us  contribute  all 
s Gen.  xli.  55.  f Prov.  viii.  32. 


224 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


in  our  power  to  propagate  liis  devotion,  which,  in  our 
days,  spreads  in  a manner  so  consoling  to  our  hearts. 
Let  us  do  all  that  depends  on  us  to  procure  him  faith- 
ful disciples.  Let  us  love  to  speak  of  him  to  all  persons 
with  whom  we  come  in  contact.  Let  us  show  by  our 
conduct  how  much  we  have  at  heart  that  our  father 
should  be  known,  loved,  and  honored.  Let  us  testify 
to  him  by  our  acts  that  our  souls  are  penetrated  with 
true  gratitude  for  the  graces  for  wThich  we  are  indebted 
to  him. 

Let  us  have  recourse  with  fervor  and  confidence  to 
his  protection.  Let  us  pray  to  him  that  he  may  sus- 
tain us  in  our  trials,  succor  us  in  danger,  and  lead  us 
to  the  harbor  of  safety.  Let  us  pray  to  him  for  all 
those  wiio  are  dear  to  us.  Let  us  pray  to  him,  in  parti- 
cular, for  our  Institute — for  that  family  of  which  he  is 
the  head,  and  which  places  all  its  confidence  in  him.  In 
fine,  let  us  take  the  firm  resolution  of  walking  in  his 
footsteps,  imitating  his  piety  and  his  devotedness,  and 
reproducing  his  virtues  in  ourselves  as  far  as  we  can 
with  the  help  of  grace. 


PRAYER. 

0 Joseph,  blessed  adopted  father  of  Jesus,  holy 
spouse  of  the  Virgin  of  virgins,  I consecrate  myself  to- 
day to  your  service ; I propose  to  honor  you  as  much  as 
wTill  be  in  my  powrer.  Obtain  for  me  fidelity  to  the  en- 
gagement I now  take.  Grant  that  I may  honor  you, 
above  all,  by  the  imitation  of  your  virtues,  by  wdiich  I 
shall  be  sure  of  pleasing  God  and  obtaining  from  his 
goodness  the  inestimable  grace  of  final  perseverance. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


225 


R&SUM&. 

We  ought  to  honor  St.  Joseph,  to  be  grateful  to  him,  to 
pray  to  him  and  imitate  him. 

Let  us  honor  St.  Joseph,  for  he  was  honored  by  the 
three  persons  of  the  adorable  Trinity 

Let  us  honor  him,  for  he  was  honored  by  Mary also 

by  Jesus  himself He  is  honored  by  the  Church and 

in  a special  manner  by  our  Institute How  many  mo- 
tives have  we,  then,  to  honor  him  as  much  as  possible  ? 

Let  us  have  true  gratitude  for  his  favors  to  us,  our  rela- 
tions, and  our  Institute for  his  care  of  Mary and 

of  Jesus  our  beloved  Saviour. . . . 

Let  us  invoke  him  with  confidence ....  let  us  pray  to 

him  with  fervor  for  ourselves our  brethren ....  the 

Church. 

Let  us  ask  his  assistance ....  especially  for  the  hour  of 
our  death 

Above  all,  let  us  imitate  him  ; it  is  thus  we  shall  show  a 
true  devotion  towards  him. 

Fruits.— To  do  all  that  depends  on  us  to  propagate  the  worship  of 
St.  Joseph  ; frequently  to  ask,  through  his  intercession,  the  grace  of 
final  perseverance. 


THIRTY-FIFTH  MEDITATION. 


ST.  JOSEPH  PATRON  OF  THOSE  WHO  ARE  CONSECRATED  TO 

GOD. 


“ Be  ye  followers  of  me,  as  I also  am  of  Christ/ * — 1 Cor.  iv.  16. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  transport  ourselves  in  spirit  into  tlie  house  of 
Nazareth,  the  true  model  of  every  Christian  house,  and, 
above  all,  of  every  religious  house.  Let  us  admire  with 
the  angels  of  God  the  ravishing  picture  that  the  three 
august  persons  who  dwell  there  present  us.  What 
order ! what  union ! what  piety ! what  zeal  for  the 
glory  of  God ! . . . . But  not  to  leave  the  ordinary  subject 
of  our  meditations,  let  us  dwell  especially  on  St.  Joseph, 
and  consider  him  to-day  as  the  patron  of  those  who  are 
consecrated  to  God. 

The  Church  authorizes  us  to  give  him  that  title, 
since  she  says  of  him  that  he  was  placed  over  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  and  considers  religious  orders  as 
the  most  excellent  part  of  that  house. 

The  masters  of  the  spiritual  life,  and  among  others 
St.  Theresa,  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  and  the  Venerable  de 
la  Salle,  represent  St.  Joseph  to  us  as  the  perfect  model 
and  special  protector  of  religious.  Acting  on  this  view, 
a great  number  of  congregations  have  placed  them- 
selves under  his  patronage  ; pay  him  a special  worship 
of  honor  ; meditate  with  great  attention  on  his  life  and 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


227 


virtues  to  form  themselves  to  his  likeness.  They  invoke 
him  for  all  that  relates  to  the  preservation  and  pro- 
gress of  their  society ; erect  their  oratories  under  his 
name  ; place  his  statue  in  their  houses  by  the  side  of 
that  of  Mary ; entrust  to  him  their  dearest  interests,  and 
commence  their  establishments  under  his  auspices. 

Everything,  then,  authorizes  us  to  consider  St. 
Joseph  as  the  patron  of  religious.  Moreover,  that  evi- 
dently results  from  the  analogy  between  his  life  and 
ours. 

We  are  religious — that  is  to  say,  favored  by  the  grace 
of  a holy  vocation;  we  have  by  corresponding  to  it 
abandoned  the  world,  embraced  the  practice  of  the  most 
exalted  virtues,  contracted  the  obligation  of  tending 
without  ceasing  to  perfection  by  the  means  made  use 
of  in  our  holy  state.  But  is  not  St.  Joseph  a perfect 
model  to  us  in  these  respects?  Was  he  not  favored 
with  the  grace  of  a sublime  vocation  to  which  he  faith- 
fully corresponded?  Did  he  not,  moreover,  excel  in 
the  practice  of  all  religious  virtues,  and  tend  without 
ceasing  to  the  highest  perfection  ? 

From  his  childhood,  Joseph  listened  with  docility  to 
the  voice  of  grace,  and  hastened  to  follow  the  interior 
attraction  of  grace.  This  led  him  to  shun  the  intercourse 
of  the  world ; to  separate  himself  from  it  at  least  in 
spirit  and  heart  to  lead  a life  of  prayer,  retirement,  and 
penance,  and  to  hx  himself  in  those  dispositions  by  the 
vow  of  perpetual  virginity.  He  was,  therefore,  faith- 
ful to  his  vocation.  But  let  us  consider  him,  above  all, 
in  the  exercise  of  the  virtues  of  our  holy  state,  and  re- 
call to  mind  his  spirit  of  faith,  his  obedience,  his  pov- 
erty, his  chastity,  his  piety,  his  devotedness,  his  pro- 


228 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


gress  in  sanctity,  his  union  with  Jesus,  and  his  con- 
formity of  soul  with  Mary. 

Joseph  looks  at  everything  with  the  eyes  of  faith, 
and  from  a supernatural  point  of  view.  He  does  nothing 
through  human  motives  or  from  habit.  Each  of  his 
actions  has  its  source  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  whose  in- 
spiration he  acts.  The  end  he  proposes  to  himself  is 
always  the  greatest  good,  and  especially  the  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore,  he 
excelled  in  the  spirit  of  faith,  which  ought  to  be  the 
very  foundation  of  souls  consecrated  to  God. 

J oseph  practiced  in  its  perfection  the  virtue  of  obe- 
dience, which  is  the  essence  of  a religious  life ; he 
obeyed  always,  and  in  everything;  he  sacrificed  to 
obedience  what  he  held  most  dear.  He  obeyed  without 
delay,  without  offering  pretexts,  without  complaining, 
showing  that  his  will  «Was  absolutely  conformable  to 
% that  of  God. 

Joseph  was  poor,  in  that  poverty  which  Jesus  Christ 
praises  by  these  words : Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit , 
for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven*  Ah ! how  many 
times  was  he  subjected  to  the  severest  privations,  and 
even  wanted  the  necessaries  of  life ! But  in  his  pov- 
erty he  always  maintained  perfect  resignation,  and  ab- 
solute detachment  from  creatures.  His  heart  did  not 
covet  the  goods  of  earth,  for  it  awakened  in  his  soul  no 
other  ambition  than  that  of  possessing  the  riches  of 
grace. 

Joseph  was  chaste  to  a degree  so  perfect,  that  God 
judged  him  worthy  to  be  the  spouse  of  the  Immaculate 
Virgin ; so  chaste  that  he  who  is  the  Sun  of  justice,  the 
* St.  Matt.  v.  3. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


229 


splendor  of  his  glory,  and  whose  delight  is  to  be 
among  the  lilies,  wished  to  remain  thirty  years  in  his 
company,  and  to  give  him  every  mark  of  honor,  respect, 
and  love.  Yes,  Joseph  loved  chastity,  and  always  had 
a sovereign  horror  of  what  is  capable  of  tarnishing  it. 
On  that  account,  he  kept  his  eyes  closed,  to  open  them 
only  to  the  contemplation  of  Jesus.  His  imagination 
recalled  to  him  nothing  but  holy  things;  he  did  not 
allow  it  to  present  anything  but  the  features  of  Jesus, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  new  Jerusalem.  What  a model 
of  purity  he  offers  us  in  his  person,  while  at  the  same 
time  he  points  out  to  us  the  precautions  we  should 
adopt  to  guard  that  holy  virtue ! 

Joseph  excelled  no  less  in  piety  and  devotedness. 
What  was  his  life  but  a continual  prayer,  a constant 
union  with  God,  an  uninterrupted  meditation  on  the 
mysteries  of  the  divine  Childhood,  and  the  great  work 
of  the  redemption  of  the  world  ? What  did  he  do  here 
below  but  adore  God,  while  at  the  same  time  he  em- 
ployed all  his  faculties  in  his  service  ? Let  us  remem- 
ber that  it  was  not  for  himself  that  he  lived,  but  solely 
for  Jesus  and  Mary — that  he  reserved  for  them  all  that 
he  could  give,  and  that  his  whole  life  may  be  called  a 
continual  sacrifice. 

In  fine,  let  us  consider  that  St.  Joseph  is  our  model 
in  our  progress  towards  perfection.  Faithful  to  each 
grace,  and  consequently  always  meriting  new  ones,  he 
advanced  more  and  more  in  the  path  of  justice.  He 
beheld  Mary  increasing  in  merits,  as  the  sun  increases 
in  splendor  from  its  rising  to  its  noonday  brightness, 
and  he  strove  to  imitate  her.  He  beheld  the  Child 
Jesus  “ increasing  in  age  and  wisdom  before  God  and 


230 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


men,”  and,  in  imitation  of  liim,  he  made  it  his  endeavor 
to  increase  each  day  in  virtue,  so  that  his  holy  death 
was  the  last  finish  to  a picture  perfectly  resembling 
the  life  and  death  of  Jesus,  our  admirable  model. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  esteem  it  a great  advantage  to  have  in  St. 
Joseph  so  good,  so  powerful  a patron,  and  whose  life 
presents  such  an  analogy  to  ours.  It  is,  in  fact,  an  as- 
surance given  us  that  he  feels  a special  interest  in  us, 
and  that  he  makes  it  his  business  to  plead  for  us  at 
the  throne  of  God. 

But  let  us  not  forget  that  to  honor  him  as  our 
patron,  we  must,  before  all  and  above  all,  apply  our- 
selves to  imitate  his  virtues,  for  a patron  is  at  once 
both  a protector  and  a model.  It  is  for  us  to  make  St. 
Joseph  our  model ; on  that  condition  he  will  become 
our  protector.  Let  us  imitate  his  obedience,  his 
chastity,  his  detachment  from  creatures,  and  his  piety. 
Then  we  may  be  certain  of  experiencing  the  effects  of 
his  intercession. 

Let  us  draw  our  virtue  from  the  same  sources — 
that  is  to  say,  from  the  spirit  of  faith  and  union  with 
Jesus  and  Mary.  Let  us  not  stop  in  the  path  of 
virtue,  but  sanctify  ourselves  still  more  each  day,  so 
that,  when  the  hour  that  is  to  close  our  time  of  trial 
has  come,  Joseph  may  see  our  souls  like  to  his,  and, 
acting  then  as  our  protector,  may  lead  them  to  the 
throne  of  God,  and  obtain  that  they  may  participate  in 
the  peace  of  the  elect  by  the  sentence  of  mercy  passed 
on  them. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


231 


PEAYEE. 

O blessed  Joseph,  who  art  the  model  and  protector 
of  religious,  obtain  for  us  the  grace  of  imitating  you  in 
the  practice  of  the  virtues  of  our  holy  state  ; for  it  is 
by  that  means  we  can  make  ourselves  agreeable  to 
God,  do  all  the  good  he  expects  of  us,  and  merit  the 
crown  he  destines  for  those  who,  like  you,  shall  have 
devoted  themselves  without  reserve  to  his  glory. 

Pk.ii  stjmE. 

Let  us  consider  St.  Joseph  as  the  patron  of  persons  con- 
secrated to  God.  The  Church  authorizes  us  to  give  him 
that  title,  by  telling  us  that  God  has  placed  him  over  his 

whole  house The  masters  of  a spiritual  life  present 

him  to  us  as  such,  and  among  them  we  may  mention  St. 
Theresa,  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  and  the  Venerable  de  la 
Salle.... 

A great  number  of  congregations  honor  him  as  their 
special  patron 

Besides,  his  life  has  a great  analogy  with  that  of  religious ! 

Joseph  had  a sublime  vocation,  to  which  he  faithfully 
corresponded. 

Joseph  practiced  in  an  excellent  degree  all  the  virtues 
that  ought  to  characterize  religious — the  spirit  of  faith, 
obedience, poverty, ....  chastity, piety, de- 
votedness,   constant  progress  towards  perfection 

God  in  giving  him  these  characteristics  wished  us  to 
see  in  his  faithful  servant  our  model  and  protector,  and 
that  we  should  honor  him  in  our  communities  as  much  as 
we  possibly  can. 

Fruits. — To  have  a great  confidence  in  St.  Joseph,  our  glorious  patron; 
to  meditate  often  on  his  virtues,  and  to  strive  to  reproduce  them  in  a 
most  perfect  manner. 


THIRTY-SIXTH  MEDITATION. 


PROGRESS  OE  ST.  JOSEPH  IN  PERFECTION. 


“ Joseph  is  a growing  son.” — Genesis  xlix.  22. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Jacob  feeling  his  end  draw  near  wished  to  bless  his 
children  before  leaving.  When  he  came  to  Joseph,  he 
foretold  that  he  would  go  on  always  increasing,  and 
that  his  virtue  would  become  more  and  more  perfect .... 
These  words  of  the  aged  patriarch,  while  proclaiming 
the  merits  of  his  beloved  son,  were  at  the  same  time 
a prophecy  regarding  the  new  Joseph,  the  admirable 
nursing- father  of  our  Saviour ! For  he  kept  always 
increasing  in  virtue.  His  soul  was  always  growing  more 
beautiful  in  the  eyes  of  God. 

The  name  of  Joseph  signifies  increase . Now,  who 
was  ever  more  worthy  to  bear  so  glorious  a name  ? 

St.  Joseph  received  the  greatest  graces  at  the  begin- 
ning of  his  ministry,  which  was  to  be  superior  to  that 
of  the  prophets  and  apostles.  We  cannot  doubt,  says 
St.  Liguori,  that  God  enriched  him  with  all  the  graces 
and  privileges  accorded  to  other  saints.  The  three 
divine  persons  dispensed  their  treasures  of  blessings 
upon  him  according  to  the  relations  he  was  to  have 
with  each  of  them  and  with  Mary. 

God  the  Father  blessed  him  at  his  entrance  into  life, 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


233 


so  as  to  make  liim  his  worthy  representative  with  the 
Word  made  man.  God  the  Son  blessed  him  so  as  to 
make  him  his  worthy  foster-father.  God  the  Holy 
Ghost  blessed  him  so  as  to  make  him  the  worthy  spouse 
of  the  most  holy  Yirgin-Motlier  of  God.  Joseph,  then, 
received  in  the  beginning  the  greatest  graces,  inclining 
his  heart  to  charity,  humility,  chastity,  devotedness, 
sweetness,  and  all  the  virtues  that  were  suitable  to  his 
great  mission. 

But  if  Joseph  received  so  many  graces  in  the  begin- 
ning, he  corresponded  to  each  of  them  with  the  greatest 
fidelity.  A prudent  servant,  he,  by  his  good  will, 
turned  to  account  the  talents  entrusted  to  him.  The 
inclination  urging  him  to  virtue  did  not  find  a soul 
lukewarm  and  indifferent,  but  a generous  heart,  borne 
with  ardor  towards  virtue,  thinking  only  on  doing  what 
God  commanded,  and  doing  it  in  the  most  perfect  way 
possible.  Therefore,  his  thoughts  were  always  great, 
noble,  elevated,  and  his  heart  always  attached  by  the 
bonds  of  a most  tender  love.  His  occupations,  his  labor, 
his  life  tended  only  to  the  greater  glory  of  God.  His 
most  constant  and  most  sincere  desire  was  to  please 
him  by  doing  his  holy  will. 

Now,  if  St.  Joseph  was  such,  what  must  have  been 
his  progress  towards  perfection ! It  is  a principle, 
that  grace  increases  through  our  fidelity  ; that  every 
act  of  correspondence  on  our  part  makes  the  commu- 
nications of  the  Holy  Ghost  more  abundant  in  us,  and 
our  hearts  more  disposed  to  follow  His  inspirations. 
What,  then,  must  have  been  the  development  of  grace 
in  St.  Joseph,  who  was  always  so  faithful  to  it ! 

Joseph  increased  in  virtue  from  his  tender  years,  and 


234 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


his  progress  was  such  that  when  arrived  at  the  age  of 
manhood  he  was  worthy  to  become  the  spouse  of 
Mary.  He  had  then  a true  conformity  of  heart  with 
that  holy  Virgin,  who  from  the  time  of  her  immaculate 
conception  was  more  pleasing  to  God  than  all  the 
angels  and  saints  together,  and  who,  moreover,  in- 
creased unceasingly  in  grace  and  merit. 

But  with  how  much  more  reason  did  Joseph  increase 
in  virtue  when  he  became  the  spouse  of  Mary ! Who 
can  conceive  how  the  example  and  words  of  the  most 
holy  Mother  of  God  influenced  his  heart,  already  so 
inclined  to  virtue  ; and,  on  the  other  hand,  what  graces 
that  well-beloved  daughter  of  the  heavenly  Father, 
whose  power  of  intercession  was  always  unlimited,  ob- 
tained for  her  holy  spouse ! 

Therefore,  J oseph  must  have  unceasingly  advanced 
towards  perfection.  Moreover,  was  he  not  borne  to- 
wards it  by  the  influence  which  his  most  holy  spouse 
naturally  exercised  over  him?  “ See,”  says  St.  Ber- 
nardine  of  Sienna  on  this  subject,  “ what  the  society  of 
great  saints  produces.  Experience  has  shown  that 
we  cannot  live  long  in  their  company  without  receiving 
from  them  and  with  them  wonderful  enlightenment, 
great  impulses  of  love,  sweet  interior  consolations. 
What  must  have  been  the  effect  upon  the  soul  of  Joseph 
of  the  society  of  the  most  holy  Virgin,  with  whom  he 
lived  so  many  years ! He  could  not  but  have  been 
borne  more  and  more  towards  virtue  all  the  time  that 
he  lived  with  her,  and  advance  with  rapid  strides  to 
the  highest  state  of  perfection.” 

Yet  it  was  not  in  Mary,  but  in  Jesus  that  St.  Joseph 
found  the  most  powerful  stimulants  for  tending  to  per- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


235 


fection.  Could  lie  have  any  other  ambition  than  to 
make  himself  like  to  that  divine  Master,  and  follow  his 
precepts  ? Did  he  not  see  him  increasing  in  age  and 
wisdom  before  God  and  men,  and  thus  teaching  us 
that  we  should  always  advance  in  virtue?  Did  not 
the  intercourse  which  he  had  with  the  adorable  Child 
lead  him,  as  it  were,  naturally  to  increase  more  and 
more  in  charity,  chastity,  and  holiness  ? 

“ Divine  love,”  says  St.  Bernardine  of  Sienna,  “ must 
have  been  enkindled  more  and  more  in  St.  Joseph  in 
the  company  of  the  God  made  man.  Was  he  not,  in 
truth,  in  immediate  contact  with  Him  who  inspires  the 
seraphim?  If  the  two  disciples  from  Emmaiis  felt 
their  hearts  on  fire  from  conversing  for  a short  time 
with  Jesus  Christ,  what  must  the  heart  of  St.  Joseph 
have  experienced,  living  with  him  in  such  familiar  re- 
lations for  thirty  years  ?” 

And  that  which  took  place  as  regards  charity  must 
have  been  equally  true  as  to  chastity  and  the  other 
virtues.  “ O Joseph,”  exclaims  Father  Bouix,  on  this 
subject,  “ the  Incarnate  Word  that  reposed  so  often  on 
your  heart,  gave  to  the  lily  of  your  virginity  an  ever- 
increasing  whiteness.  He  transfigured  your  virginity, 
elevating  it  unceasingly  so  as  to  make  it  approach  still 
nearer  to  his  divine  heart.  That  divine  Sun  was  re- 
flected in  your  soul  as  in  a clear  stream.  Spiritual 
riches  did  not  cease  to  accumulate  in  you  during  the 
seventy  years  of  your  life.  You  grew  up  like  a cedar 
of  sanctity.  From  height  to  height,  you  attained  to 
that  elevation  compared  to  which  every  angel  and  man 
are  placed  beneath  you.  The  increase  of  grace  is  such 
in  your  soul  that  my  spirit  is  unequal  to  the  contempla- 


236 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


tion  of  it.  For  thirty  years  you  were  occupied  only 
about  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  for  thirty  years  Jesus  and 
Mary  did  not  cease  to  be  engaged  about  you,  to  en- 
rich and  sanctify  you.  O Joseph,  I pause  here,  because 
I am  lost  in  the  immensity  of  your  treasures  of  grace.’ ; 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  not  forget  that  we  are  obliged  by  our  state  to 
tend  unceasingly  towards  perfection;  that  to  ignore 
this  would  make  us  very  culpable  before  God.  Let  us 
watch,  then,  over  ourselves  to  discharge  that  duty  well. 
Let  us,  in  imitation  of  Joseph,  act  in  such  a manner 
that  each  day  may  see  us  more  virtuous  than  the  pre- 
ceding one.  Let  us  hasten  the  more  vigorously  in  this 
path,  as  the  time  of  our  career  here  must  soon  end. 
The  more  graces  we  receive  from  God,  the  more  should 
we  strive  to  make  them  bear  fruit  within  us. 

Oh  how  happy  we  shall  be  at  the  end  of  our  days, 
if  we  have,  in  this  way,  made  progress  towards  virtue ! 
We  shall  terminate  it  with  joy,  because  we  shall  have  a 
well-founded  confidence  that  God  will  give  us  the  crown 
promised  to  those  who  will  persevere  in  justice. 

PEAYEE. 

I beseech  you,  O Joseph,  my  loving  father,  to  teach 
me  what  is  the  value  of  grace,  and  to  obtain  for  me  that 
I may  be  faithful  to  it.  Teach  me  what  I ought  to  do  to 
increase  every  day  this  treasure  in  my  soul ; to  advance 
from  virtue  to  virtue  till  I attain  to  that  degree  of  per- 
fection to  which  God  calls  me,  so  that  I may  be  worthy 
to  enjoy  with  you  in  heaven  the  degree  of  glory  which 
is  there  destined  for  me. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


237 


r£sum£. 

St.  Joseph  received  in  the  beginning  the  greatest 
graces  ; he  corresponded  to  each  of  them  with  an  entire 
fidelity.  Therefore,  he  went  on  increasing  in  virtue  and 
merits 

How  virtuous  he  was  in  his  youth,  since  he  became 
worthy  to  be  chosen  the  spouse  of  Mary  ! 

What  progress  in  sanctity  did  he  not  make  afterwards, 
when  he  was  influenced  by  the  example  and  words  of  the 
most  holy  Virgin  ! 

How  much  more  did  he  increase  when  he  was  in  familiar 
intercourse  with  the  Child  Jesus ! 

Oh  how  he  must  have,  then,  increased  in  charity in 

purity in  piety  !....  What  beauty  his  soul  acquired 

from  day  to,  day ! 

In  what  a degree  of  sanctity  was  it  when  it  quitted  this 
earth,  since  it  had  constantly  advanced  towards  perfection 
with  an  ever-increasing  swiftness ! . . . . 

Let  us  often  call  to  mind  this  example,  we  religious  es- 
pecially, who  are  obliged  by  our  state  to  tend  unceasingly 
to  perfection .... 

Fruits. — To  make  with  exactitude  the  weekly  review  and  the  month- 
ly retreat,  to  be  able  to  give  ourselves  a good  account  of  our  progress  in 
spiritual  life  ; to  ask,  through  the  intercession  of  St.  Joseph,  the  grace 
to  fulfil  faithfully  all  the  obligations  of  our  holy  state. 


THIRTY-SEVENTH  MEDITATION. 


ST.  JOSEPH  PATRON  OF  PERSONS  DEVOTED  TO  THE 
CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  OF  CHILDREN. 


“I  take  the  hoy  upon  me,  require  him  at  my  hand.” — Genesis  xliii.  9. 


CONSIDERATION. 

St.  Joseph,  our  patron  as  religious,  is  such,  also  in 
so  far  as  we  are  religious  teachers.  To  prove  this,  we 
need  only  reflect  on  the  mission  he  fulfilled,  and  con- 
sider it  in  its  source,  its  object,  its  end,  and  the  virtues 
it  required  him  to  practice. 

It  was  from  God  the  Father  that  Joseph  received 
the  important  and  sublime  mission  of  watching  over 
the  Child  Jesus,  of  being  his  guardian,  his  guide,  his 
protector.  It  was  he  who  named  him  his  represent- 
ative with  that  adorable  Saviour,  and  who,  in  the 
strictest  sense,  used  to  him  these  words  : “ Take  this 
Child*  All  you  will  do  for  him  you  will  do  for  me,  be- 
cause my  Son  and  I are  one  in  the  unity  of  nature.” 
But  does  not  our  mission  as  Christian  teachers  pro- 
ceed equally  from  God  ? Has  he  not  established  us  his 
representatives  in  regard  to  our  pupils,  and  is  it  not  in 
his  name  that  we  speak  to  them  ? 

Tes,  it  is  God  who,  by  his  providence,  called  us  to 
our  holy  state,  and  said  to  us  : “ Take  this  Child ; give 


* Exodus  ii.  9. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSETH. 


239 


him  instruction  and  good  example ; nourish  his  soul 
with  the  bread  of  truth.  What  you  will  do  for  him  I 
will  consider  as  done  for  myself,  for  I see  in  him  my 
beloved  Son,  whose  loving  member  he  is.” 

Our  mission,  considered  in  its  beginning,  has  the 
same  source  as  that  of  St.  Joseph.  It  is  evidently 
divine,  and  among  the  designs  of  the  mercy  of  God 
towards  men. 

Let  us  consider,  in  the  second  place,  the  mission  of 
St.  Joseph  in  its  object. 

Joseph  takes  care  of  the  Child  Jesus ; it  is  over  him 
that  he  watches  ; it  is  he  that  he  protects ; it  is  for 
him  that  he  devotes  himself ; it  is  in  him  that  all  his 
labors  terminate.  But  let  us  call  to  mind  that  Chris- 
tians make  one  with  Jesus  Christ.  That  the  Child  Jesus 
is  in  each  of  our  pupils  who  are  in  a state  of  grace ; 
that,  we  have,  in  one  sense,  the  same  object  for 
our  solicitude  that  St.  Joseph  had.  It  is  on  Jesus, 
considered  in  the  person  of  the  children  confided  to  us, 
that  we  lavish  our  cares ; it  is  Jesus  whom  we  protect 
in  them ; it  is  to  Jesus  that  we  devote  ourselves  in  de- 
voting ourselves  to  our  work ; it  is  in  Jesus  that  all  our 
labors  in  their  regard  end;  it  is  Jesus  whom  we  love 
in  their  persons. 

Let  us  consider,  in  the  third  place,  the  mission  of 
St.  J oseph  in  its  motives  and  its  end. 

Joseph  takes  care  of  the  Child  Jesus,  through 
obedience  to  God  the  Father,  who  had  confided  that 
mission  to  him.  He  takes  care  of  him  through  love  for 
Jesus,  in  whom  he  adores  his  Lord  and  his  God,  and 
through  his  desire  of  imitating  Mary,  whom  he  sees 
entirely  devoted  to  that  divine  Child.  He  takes  care 


240 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


of  Jesus  until  lie  attains  his  complete  development — 
his.  perfect  age,  as  St.  Paul*  says. 

But  under  all  these  respects,  our  mission  presents 
striking  traits  of  resemblance  to  that  of  Joseph  ; and, 
in  truth,  why  are  we  devoted  to  our  work  ? Is  it  not 
through  obedience  to  God,  the  Author  of  our  vocation? 
Why  do  we  devote  ourselves  to  it,  but  for  love  of  Jesus, 
our  Lord  and  our  God,  who  wishes  to  be  the  object 
of  our  solicitude  in  the  person  of  our  pupils  ? Is  it 
not  also  to  please  Mary,  whose  children  they  are,  and 
who  cannot  but  feel  the  most  lively  affection  for  those 
who  consecrate  themselves  to  the  salvation  of  their 
souls  ? 

What  is  our  object?  Is  it  not  to  form  Jesus  in  their 
hearts,  to  make  Christ  at  his  perfect  age  come  into 
their  souls  ? Yes,  Christian  education  is  nothing  else 
than  the  formation  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  person  of  the 
children.  Its  end  is  to  bring  each  of  them  to  be  able 
to  say  in  all  truth  these  words  of  St.  Paul : I live , note 
not  1 ; but  Christ  liveth  in  me.  + It  is  to  reproduce  Jesus 
Christ  in  their  souls,  so  that,  having  a true  resemblance 
to  that  divine  Saviour,  and  an  intimate  union  with  him, 
God  the  Father  may  be  able  to  look  on  them  with  love, 
and  say  of  them  : “ Yes,  these  are  my  beloved  children, 
of  whom  I am  well  pleased.” 

It  is  true,  then,  that  our  mission  is  like  to  that  of 
Joseph  in  its  motives  and  its  end;  that,  consequently, 
our  work  is  his  work,  in  which  he  cannot  but  feel  the 
greatest  interest. 

No,  let  us  not  doubt  but  he  feels  an  interest  in  the 
work  of  the  Christian  education  of  children.  Do  they 
* Eph.  iv.  13.  f Gal.  ii.  20. 


I 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


241 


not  remind  liim  of  the  Child  Jesus  ? Are  they  not  in 
the  Church,  which  is  the  mystical  body  of  Jesus  Christ 
— the  dearest  portion,  and  the  one  most  worthy  of  soli- 
citude ? Head  of  the  great  Christian  family,  the  faithful 
servant  to  whom  was  entrusted  the  care  of  all  in  the 
house  of  his  Lord,  he  cannot  but  hold  such  a work  as 
the  object  of  his  tenderest  affections. 

But  let  us  not  merely  see  these  different  traits  of 
resemblance  between  our  mission  and  that  of  St. 
Joseph.  Let  us  consider,  also,  under  the  head  of  Appli- 
cation, that  he  requires  of  us  the  exercise  of  the  same 
virtues  that  he  practiced. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  remember  that  Joseph  was  full  of  respect  for 
the  Child  confided  to  his  care ; that  he  saw  in  him  God 
himself.  Ah ! like  him,  let  us  respect  the  children  who 
are  confided  to  us ; let  us  not  look  at  them  but  from  the 
point  of  view  of  faith ; let  us  not  consider  them  but  in 
their  relations  to  Jesus  Christ,  whose  members,  co-heirs, 
and  brothers  they  are,  and  who  wishes  that  we  should 
respect  himself  in  their  persons. 

Let  us  remember  that  St.  Joseph  devoted  himself 
without  reserve  to  the  work  which  Providence  entrust- 
ed to  him;  that  he  made  a complete  abnegation  of 
all  personal  interest,  and  testified,  in  all  circumstances, 
that  he  was  truly  a man  of  sacrifice.  Let  us  do  the 
same.  Besides,  it  is  necessary.  Our  work  cannot  suc- 
ceed but  on  that  condition.  Is  it  not  by  self-sacrifice 
that  self-sacrifice  is  taught  ? To  train  up  Christians, 
we  must  train  up  men  of  self  denial.  Now,  no  one 

can  succeed  in  that  who  is  not  such  himself. 

11 


242 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Let  us  remember  that  St.  Joseph  was  a man  of  exact 
vigilance;  that  he  faithfully  guarded  the  deposit  en- 
trusted to  his  care.  The  greatest  subject  of  sorrow 
during  his  wdiole  life  was  that  he  had  left  the  Child 
Jesus  at  Jerusalem  without  ascertaining  for  certain 
that  he  was  with  Mary,  or  other  persons  of  his  ac- 
quaintance— a great  lesson  for  us  who  are  charged  with 
the  education  of  children.  Let  us  watch  over  them ; 
that  is  a point  of  sovereign  importance.  The  greatest 
dangers  menace  their  souls,  and  it  lies  with  us  to  cause 
them  to  avoid  them. 

Let  us  call  to  mind,  again,  that  St.  Joseph  was  a man 
of  exemplary  piety,  consummate  prudence,  and  indefa- 
tigable zeal.  We  have  to  imitate  him  in  these  three 
virtues.  Our  pupils  will  not  be  formed  to  piety  unless 
they  observe  it  in  us  in  an  eminent  degree.  Then 
weakness  and  the  perils  they  run  into,  require  us  to  be 
very  prudent  in  all  our  intercourse  with  them,  and  to 
be  animated  with  true  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  their 
souls. 


PEAYEE. 

O Joseph,  to  whom  God  the  Father  entrusted  his 
adorable  Son,  remember  that  to  us  also  he  has  en- 
trusted that  adorable  Son  in  the  person  of  our  pupils  ; 
obtain  for  us  that  we  may  watch  over  them  as  you 
watched  over  him.  Deign,  for  that  end,  to  ask  of  your 
adorable  Saviour  for  us  the  grace  to  imitate  your  vir- 
tues, so  that,  obtaining  His  glory  and  the  salvation  of 
souls  during  life,  we  may  merit  to  experience  on  the 
day  that  it  ends  the  effects  of  his  mercy. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


243 


RESUME. 

Sfc.  Joseph  is  our  patron  as  Christian  teachers. 

It  is  from  God  he  received  his  mission  to  protect  the 
Child  Jesus.  It  is  from  God,  likewise,  the  Author  of  our 
vocation,  that  we  received  the  mission  confided  to  us ... . 

St.  Joseph  was  the  representative  of  God  the  Father 
in  regard  to  the  Child  Jesus.  We,  too,  are  such,  in  the 
strictest  sense,  in  regard  to  our  pupils 

It  is  of  Jesus  that  Joseph  takes  care It  is  also  Jesus, 

considered  in  the  person  of  the  children,  who  is  the  object 
of  our  solicitude .... 

Joseph  devotes  himself,  through  motives  of  faith,  to  the 
mission  confided  to  him  by  Providence.  From  the  same 
motives  we  should  acquit  ourselves  in  our  duties 

Joseph  was  assisted  by  Mary  in  the  care  he  took  of  the 
Child-God  ; but  is  it  not  by  the  protection  of  that  good 
Mother  that  the  Christian  teacher  forms  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  person  of  his  pupils  ? 

St.  Joseph  is  greatly  interested  in  the  education  of 
children,  because  they  are  the  dearest  portion  of  the 
Church,  which  is  the  mystical  body  of  Jesus  Christ;  because 
they  are  the  most  deserving  of  interest  amongst  all  the 
members  of  the  great  Christian  family  over  which  he  is 
placed. . . . 

Joseph  is  a model  for  the  Christian  teacher,  by  the  vir- 
tues of  which  he  gives  an  example,  and  especially  by  his 
respect  for  the  Child  entrusted  to  him by  his  devo- 
tedness. . . .by  his  watchfulness by  his  piety. . . .by  his 

prudence ....  by  his  indefatigable  zeal .... 

Fruits. — To  look  often  and  with,  faith  on  the  picture  of  St.  Joseph  ; 
to  beseech  him  to  help  us  in  the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged. 


THIRTY-EIGHTH  MEDITATION. 


ST.  JOSEPH  OUR  MODEL  AS  TEACHERS. 


“Make  it  according  to  the  pattern  that  was  shown  thee.” 

— Exodus,  xxv.  40. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Our  Venerable  Founder  in  selecting  St.  Joseph  as 
the  patron  of  our  society  wished  that  we  should  often 
look  up  to  that  great  servant  of  God  as  our  model  as 
teachers.  Let  us  enter  into  his  views,  and  meditate 
to-day  on  St.  Joseph  practicing  the  virtues  most  neces- 
sary for  us  in  our  relations  with  our  pupils.  These  are 
the  spirit  of  faith,  respect,  watchfulness,  and  devoted- 
ness. 

St.  Joseph  guiding  himself  only  by  the  light  of  faith, 
and  acting  according  to  the  revelation  given  him  by  the 
angels,  saw  God  in  the  person  of  the  Child  confided  to 
his  care.  He  adored  in  him  the  Messiah  promised  to 
the  world — the  Emmanuel  who  had  espoused  all  the 
miseries  of  our  humanity,  to  restore  it  to  the  state  of 
happiness  from  which  it  had  fallen. 

Let  us  imitate  St.  Joseph  in  that  first  respect.  The 
children  confided  to  us  appear  to  our  eyes  under  two 
very  different  aspects — that  of  nature  and  that  of  faith. 
Let  us  take  care  not  to  look  at  them  from  the  natural 
point  of  view,  for  either  we  should  not  love  them,  and 
consequently  not  devote  ourselves  to  the  work  of  their 
salvation,  or  we  should  love  them  with  a natural  love 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


245 


which  would  be  full  of  danger  to  us,  and  might  lead  us 
to  the  depths  of  the  abyss  of  evil.  Let  us  not  look  at 
them  but  with  the  eyes  of  faith.  Let  us  see  in  them 
the  members  and  brothers  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  temples 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  heirs  to  the  glory  of  heaven. 
It  is  then  only  we  should  love  them  with  that  super- 
natural love  which  alone  inspires  true  devotedness. 

St.  Joseph  respects  the  Child  Jesus,  and  at  the  very 
moment  when  he  presses  him  to  his  heart,  he  adores 
in  him  the  thrice-holy  God,  before  whom  the  heavenly 
spirits  cover  themselves  with  their  wings.  Let  us  draw 
from  that  this  important  instruction,  that  we  ought 
constantly  to  respect  our  pupils,  to  act  towards  them 
as  their  dignity  of  man  and  Christian  requires — as  be- 
ing consecrated  to  God  by  baptism,  as  being,  in  regard 
to  us,  Jesus  Christ  himself.  Has  not  our  Lord  in  truth 
said  these  words,  which  we  cannot  too  often  think  of : 
Amen  I say  to  you , as  long  as  you  did  it  to  one  of  these 
my  least  brethren , you  did  it  to  me .* 

St.  Joseph  watches  over  the  Child-God.  He  con- 
siders these  words  of  Scriptures,  “ Take  this  child,  and 
take  care  of  him  for  me,”+  as  said  to  him  by  the  heavenly 
Father.  Therefore,  he  is  never  wanting  in  his  atten- 
tion, but  guards  him  with  the  greatest  solicitude,  so 
that  no  misfortune  befalls  him.  Let  us  imitate  his  vigi- 
lance. To  us  also  is  it  said,  “ Take  care  of  these  chil- 
dren.” We  must,  therefore,  never  lose  sight  of  them 
so  long  as  they  are  under  our  responsibility.  Let  us  do 
all  that  depends  on  us — -never  to  be  wanting  in  that 
respect.  Let  us  think  that  an  enemy  much  more  cruel 
than  Herod  wishes  the  life  of  their  souls,  and  that, 
* St.  Matt.  xxv.  40.  f Exodus  ii.  9. 


246 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


according  to  the  expression  of  holy  Scripture : The 

devil , as  a roaring  lion , goeth  about , seeking  whom  he  may 
devour .* 

St.  Joseph,  who  is  our  model  in  the  spirit  of  faith, 
as  well  as  in  respect  and  watchfulness  as  regards  our 
pupils,  is  equally  so  in  the  devotedness  that  ought 
to  characterize  religious  teachers.  He  was  employed 
in  the  education  of  the  Child  Jesus  from  the  purest 
motives,  and  with  admirable  generosity,  great  courage, 
and  heroic  constancy. 

Joseph  did  not  consult  his  own  interests ; he  did  not 
propose  to  himself  to  please  men,  but  only  to  do  the 
will  of  God ; in  all  truth  he  could  say  these  words  of 
David  : “ For  what  do  I desire  on  earth  or  in  heaven, 
but  you,  O my  God !”  Ah  ! may  it  be  so  with  us,  and 
may  the  desire  to  please  God,  to  promote  his  glory,  to 
fulfil  his  holy  wTill,  reign  in  our  souls,  and  be  the  source 
of  all  our  actions. 

St.  Joseph  devoted  himself  without  reserve.  From 
the  day  he  knew  of  his  august  mission,  he  made  the 
complete  abnegation  of  self,  and  said  thenceforth  by 
his  actions : “ To  you,  and  for  you,  O Jesus,  I devote 
all  I have  and  all  I am ! To  you  and  for  you,  I devote 
my  mind,  my  heart,  my  fife ! To  you  I consecrate  my 
time,  my  anxieties,  my  labors ! To  you  I sacrifice  all 
my  health,  strength,  and  courage !”  What  a model  for 
us,  who  are,  like  him,  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God ! 

But  is  our  devotedness  entire  ? It  is  with  sincerity, 
and  without  any  regard  to  self,  that  we  say  : “ I conse- 
crate myself  to  you,  O most  august  Trinity,  to  procure 
your  glory  as  much  as  will  be  in  my  power,  and  you 
® St.  Peter  v.  8. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


247 


will  require  of  me?”  Is  it  not  with  a certain  reserve 
we  say  it,  and  as  if  afraid  of  giving  too  much  to  God 
in  giving  him  the  little  that  we  are. 

St.  Joseph  devoted  himself  with  generosity  and 
humility.  Let  us  contemplate  him  in  the  duties  that 
Providence  entrusted  to  him.  There  is  nothing  there 
for  nature  which  they  require  should  be  wholly  cruci- 
fied. He  devotes  himself  to  his  work,  without  requir- 
ing in  return  any  temporal  advantage.  He  passes  his 
life  in  painful  toils,  disowned  by  men,  perhaps  even 
despised  by  some,  yet  is  happy  at  the  lot  that  has 
fallen  to  him Ah  ! does  he  not  know  that  he  is  ac- 

complishing great  things ; that  God  has  associated 
him  with  Jesus  to  concur  in  the  redemption  of  the 
world  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  that  thus  the 
fruits  of  his  sweat  would  be  the  sanctification  of  many 
in  Israel ! 

Following  his  example,  let  us  devote  ourselves  gen- 
erously to  the  Christian  education  of  our  pupils ; let  us 
hope  nothing  from  men ; let  us  even  expect  from  them 
nothing  but  ingratitude.  Besides,  what  matter  about 
their  sentiments  in  regard  to  us,  since  we  know  from 
a certain  source  that  we  are  doing  a great  work,  that 
we  are  associated  with  Jesus  Christ  for  the  salvation  of 
souls ! 

APPLICATION. 

It  is  principally  from  the  contemplation  of  Jesus 
and  Mary  that  St.  Joseph  draws  the  strength  of  soul 
that  inspired  him  with  a spirit  of  sacrifice.  Let  us  act 
in  the  same  way.  Let  us  cast  our  eyes  on  Jesus  and 
Mary,  for  whom  we  sacrifice  ourselves.  Have  we  not 


248  MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 

in  our  classes,  and  even  everywhere  in  our  houses, 
then  holy  statues  ? Let  us  look  at  them,  and  then  say 
to  ourselves  : “ The  labor  to  which  I devote  myself  is 
painful,  but  it  is  for  Jesus.  Ah  ! how  could  I find  it 
too  fatiguing  when  it  is  question  of  pleasing  Him  who, 
being  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  made  himself  a 
little  Child  for  me,  suffering  and  weeping  in  a crib? 
The  labor  to  which  I devote  myself  is  painful,  but  it 
is  for  Mary ; it  is  to  make  her  known,  loved,  and 
thanked ; it  is  that  she  may  live  in  the  hearts  of  my 
pupils.”  No,  nothing  can  dishearten  the  religious 
teacher  when  he  reflects  that  he  is  devoting  his  labors 
for  Jesus  and  Mary.  Jesus  and  Mary  are  all  his  love, 
and  love  finds  nothing  above  its  strength,  but  wishes, 
on  the  contrary,  more  than  it  can  do. 

Let  us  cast  our  eyes  also  on  the  statue  of  St. 
Joseph,  and  say  : “ Behold  him  whom  I call  my  patron 
and  my  model;  but  how  he  labored  and  suffered! 
Should  I not  bear  a resemblance  to  him  ?”  Then  we 
add  : “ Courage,  my  soul ; yes,  courage  ! Jesus,  for 
whom  Joseph  sacrificed  himself  without  reserve,  has 
rewarded  him  as  God.  He  will  act  so  towards  me  ; 
and  when  I shall  have  used  in  his  service  all  the 
strength  and  life  he  has  given  me,  he  will  grant  that 
I may  die,  like  St.  Joseph,  in  his  arms,  and  in  those  of 
his  most  holy  Mother.” 

PRAYER. 

Great  saint,  who  art  my  protector  and  model,  both 
as  a religious  and  a teacher,  obtain  for  me  the  grace 
of  imitating  your  faith  and  your  devotedness  ; so  that, 
acquitting  myself  with  the  greatest  fidelity  of  my  ob- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


249 


ligations  as  a Christian  teacher,  I may  merit  to  share 
in  the  recompense  of  those  who,  like  you,  consecrate 
themselves  to  his  service  without  reserve,  and  from  the 
purest  motives  of  faith  and  religion. 

R&STJM&. 

Let  us  consider  St.  Joseph  as  the  model  of  Christian 

teachers. . . .in  his  spirit  of  faith in  his  respect  for  the 

Child  Jesus in  his  watchfulness  and  his  devotedness .... 

Let  us  not  look  upon  our  pupils  but  from  the  point  of 
view  of  faith,  for  otherwise  we  should  not  love  them,  and 

consequently  should  not  devote  ourselves  to  them or 

we  should  love  them  with  a natural  love,  which  would  be 
full  of  dangers Let  us  look  at  them  only  in  their  rela- 
tions to  the  things  of  eternity Let  us  respect  our 

pupils  as  St.  Joseph  respected  the  Child  Jesus,  for  they 
represent  the  divine  Saviour  in  regard  to  us ... . 

Let  us  watch  over  them  with  the  greatest  solicitude,  as 
St.  Joseph  watched  over  Jesus. . . . 

Let  us  show  by  our  devotedness  that  we  are  really  the 
imitators  of  that  great  saint 

Let  us  devote  ourselves  from  the  pure  motive  of  the 
glory  of  God,  and  in  no  way  from  the  hope  of  any  tem- 
poral advantage 

Let  us  devote  ourselves  without  reserve,  and  forever. . . . 

Like  St.  Joseph,  let  us  draw  strength  for  our  devoted- 
ness from  the  contemplation  of  Jesus  and  Mary If  we 

really  love  Jesus  and  Mary,  nothing  in  our  state  will  ap- 
pear to  us  too  painful,  or  will  be  able  to  deter  us ... . 

Fruits. — To  look  often,  and  always  with  faith,  on  the  statues  of 
Jesus  and  Mary  ; to  ask,  through  St.  Joseph,  the  grace  of  acquitting 
ourselves  well  of  our  obligations  as  Christian  teachers. 


THIRTY-NINTH  MEDITATION. 


ST.  JOSEPH  THE  PATRON  OE  CHILDREN. 


“ Take  this  child,  and  nurse  him  for  me  ; I will  give  thee  thy  wages.’ ' 

Exodus  ii.  9. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Charged  with  the  difficult  and  important  task  of 
educating  pupils  and  making  them  true  Christians — that 
is  to  say,  forming  them  to  the  practice  of  the  maxims 
of  the  holy  Gospel — it  is  necessary  that  we  have  great 
confidence  in  the  success  of  our  undertakings,  and  that 
we  should  be  constantly  actuated  with  truly  apostolic 
zeal.  For  this  end,  let  us  look  on  St.  Joseph  to-day  as 
the  protector  of  children,  and  more  especially  of  those 
who  are  entrusted  to  us. 

Let  us  consider  what  has  been  and  still  is  our  love 
for  children,  and  how  much  all  that  has  reference  to 
their  salvation  should  interest  us. 

No  doubt  St.  Joseph  has  a singular  predilection  for 
children.  That  sentiment  was  always  in  his  heart,  be- 
cause it  was  placed  there  by  God  himself,  who  destined 
him  to  be  the  guardian  of  his  Son,  who  was  to  become 
a little  child  to  save  us.  Yes,  he  loved  children,  he  who 
lived  only  for  the  Child  Jesus,  he  to  whom  every  child 
recalled  the  memory  of  the  beloved  of  his  heart,  who 
was  also  the  object  of  his  adoration. 

St.  Joseph  loved  the  Child  Jesus  with  an  unlimited 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


251 


love,  and  he  knew  that  in  him  all  human  nature,  and, 
in  particular,  youth,  was  represented.  He  ought,  then, 
and,  as  it  were,  by  a necessary  consequence,  to  love 
all  mankind,  and  especially  children. 

But  if  St.  Joseph  loved  children  when  on  earth,  how 
much  more  does  he  love  them  now  that  he  is  in  hea- 
ven ! The  saints  when  they  enter  into  their  abode  of 
happiness  do  not  lose  their  sentiments  of  love  for  men. 
They  are  constantly  animated  by  them,  and  with  a 
quite  different  force  from  what  they  experienced  in 
their  mortal  bodies.  The  heart  of  St.  Joseph  is,  then, 
filled  with  affection  for  Christian  youth,  who,  besides, 
have  just  claims  to  his  love  and  to  that  of  the  saints. 

St.  Joseph  participates  in  all  the  sentiments  of 
Jesus ; his  heart  forms  but  one  with  that  of  his  adora- 
ble Saviour.  But  in  how  high  a degree  love  for  chil- 
dren exists  in  the  heart  of  Jesus ! Now,  as  in  the  days 
when  he  was  visible  among  men,  does  he  suffer  these 
words  of  ineffable  sweetness  to  pass  from  his  divine 
lips  : Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me*  St.  Joseph 
experiences  the  same  love  for  them,  and  repeats  like- 
wise : “ Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  for  in 
coming  unto  me  they  will  go  with  safety  to  Jesus,  who 
alone  is  salvation  and  life.” 

St.  Joseph  loves  Jesus,  not  only  in  his  divine  person, 
but  also  in  his  mystical  body,  which  is  the  Church. 
What,  then,  must  be  his  love  for  children,  who  form  the 
most  interesting  part  of  it,  and  are  the  members  of 
Jesus  Christ  placed  nearest  to  his  adorable  heart! 

Yes,  St.  Joseph  loves  children ; he  loves  them  as  the 
saints  love — solely  with  reference  to  Jesus.  He  loves 


St.  Mark  x.  14. 


252 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


them  because  they  are  the  brothers  of  that  Infant-God 
of  whom  he  was  the  adopted  father.  He  loves  them 
because  he  sees  in  them  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ 
— in  one  sense,  Jesus  himself. 

Let  us  often  think  of  that  love  of  St.  Joseph  for 
children ; let  us  think,  in  particular,  of  that  which  he 
has  for  our  pupils,  and,  in  imitation  of  him,  let  us  pro- 
pose to  ourselves  to  love  them  only  with  a view  to 
Jesus  Christ,  who  tells  us  in  his  Gospel : Amen  I say  to 
you , as  long  as  you  did  it  to  one  of  these  my  least  brethren , 
you  did  it  to  me*  Let  us  not  love  them  but  to  lead 
them  to  that  divine  Saviour,  and  through  him  to  true 
life. 

But  let  us  consider  in  St.  Joseph  not  merely  his  love 
for  children,  but  the  assistance  he  renders  them. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  protector  of  children;  he  watches 
over  them  from  heaven  ; he  feels  an  interest  in  all  that 
can  contribute  to  their  salvation  ; he  continues  to  them 
the  solicitude  he  had  for  the  Child-God,  whom  they 
represent ; he  becomes  then'  intercessor  with  him,  and 
obtains  for  them  all  the  graces  they  require ; he  pro- 
vides with  a paternal  tenderness  for  the  wants  of  their 
souls;  he  protects  them  against  the  attacks  of  hell ; he 
defeats  the  perfidy  of  those  spirits  of  darkness  of  whom 
Herod  was  but  the  blind  instrument,  and  who  seek 
only  to  make  Jesus  die  in  the  hearts  of  men. 

Let  us  judge  of  the  solicitude  of  St.  Joseph  for  chil- 
dren by  the  success  that  has  crowned  the  works  with 
respect  to  children  that  were  placed  under  his  patron- 
age. Let  us  judge  of  it  especially  by  the  protection 
he  has  granted  to  our  Institute— that  great  work  of  one 
* St.  Matt.  xxv.  40. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


253 


of  his  most  faithful  servants,  and  principal  end  of 
which  is  the  Christian  education  of  children. 

APPLICATION. 

The  thought  that  St.  Joseph  is  the  protector  of 
children,  and  especially  of  those  entrusted  to  our 
charge,  ought  to  inspire  in  us  sentiments  of  the  greatest 
confidence,  and  powerfully  stimulate  our  zeal. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  protector  of  our  pupils.  He  there- 
fore feels  an  interest  in  our  work.  Moreover,  is  it  not 
also  his  own,  since  it  is  the  formation,  the  preservation 
of  Jesus  in  the  souls  of  the  children?  Ah!  let  us  not 
doubt  that  he  is  disposed  to  help  us  in  our  labors.  Let 
us  study  to  have  a true  devotion  to  him,  and  we  may 
be  sure  that  God  will  bless  our  efforts,  and  make  us 
attain  that  result  which  is  the  end  of  all  our  desires — 
to  preserve  the  life  of  Jesus  in  the  hearts  of  our  pupils. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  protector  of  our  children.  What  a 
motive  we  have,  then,  to  watch  over  ourselves  so  as  to 
do  nothing  that  can  scandalize  them.  Alas ! could  he 
do  anything  else  than  abandon  to  the  wrath  of  Heaven 
him  who,  like  a new  Herod,  sought  to  make  the  Child 
Jesus  die  in  their  persons ! 

St.  Joseph  is  the  protector  of  our  children.  Let  us, 
then,  inspire  them  with  great  confidence  in  his  interces- 
sion. Let  us  tell  them,  and  in  the  accents  of  strongest 
conviction,  that  he  is  all-powerful  in  heaven ; that  he 
counts  it  a happiness  to  present  their  prayers  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  that,  therefore,  they  will  never  invoke  him 
with  faith  without  receiving  succor  from  him.  Let  us 
train  them  to  a true  devotion  towards  him.  Let  us 
teach  them  to  pray  to  him  with  piety  and  confidence. 


254  MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 

Let  us  induce  them  to  recommend  the  work  of  their 
education  to  him,  their  success  in  then  studies,  their 
choice  of  a state  of  life,  all  them  future,  and,  above  all, 
their  passage  from  time  to  eternity. 

And  let  us,  too,  pray  frequently  to  him  for  them. 
Let  us  recommend  to  him  those  wThom  we  see  answer- 
ing the  care  we  bestow  on  them,  so  that  they  may  per- 
severe in  their  good  dispositions,  and  those  also  who 
appear  to  have  entered  on  a bad  course,  so  that  he 
may  obtain  their  return  to  virtue.  Let  us  beseech  him, 
in  the  name  of  the  Child  Jesus,  always  to  show  himself 
their  generous  protector.  Let  us  beg  him  to  extend 
his  solicitude  to  those  who  are  no  longer  with  us,  but 
have  gone  to  follow  their  career  in  a world  so  full  of 
dangers. 

Oh  what  precious  advantages  we  should  secure  to 
ourselves,  if  we  entered  into  those  dispositions  ! With 
how  many  graces  should  we  be  enriched,  and  with 
what  confidence  should  we  present  ourselves  before 
God  at  the  end  of  our  life,  which,  in  imitation  of  that  of 
St.  Joseph,  should  have  been  entirely  consecrated  to 
his  glory ! 


PEAYEE. 

Why  have  I not,  O glorious  St.  Joseph,  the  disposi- 
tions wfith  which  you  took  care  of  the  Child  Jesus ! 
What  good  I might  do,  and  what  glory  I might  pro- 
cure for  God  ! Grant  them,  by  your  all-powerful  pro- 
tection, that,  imitating  your  virtues,  I may  succeed  in 
training  my  pupils  to  a Christian  life,  and  that,  one 
day,  they  and  I may  be  introduced  to  you  to  offer  you 
our  homage  for  the  crowning  grace  of  perseverance. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


255 


B&SUM& 

Let  us  consider  St.  Joseph  as  the  protector  of  children 
in  general,  and  more  especially  of  those  confided  to  us ... . 

He  loves  them,  because  he  loved  children,  being  created 

to  love  the  Child-God; he  loves  them,  because  they 

belong  to  the  mystical  body  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  because, 
seen  from  a point  of  faith,  they  are,  in  one  sense,  the  Child 
Jesus. 

He  loves  them,  and  he  protects  them;  he  continues  to 
them  the  cares  he  lavished  on  the  Child  Jesus;. . . .he  pro- 
vides for  the  wants  of  their  souls,  defends  them  against 
the  assaults  of  the  devil,  becomes  their  intercessor  with 
Jesus  Christ ....  Let  us  love  our  pupils  solely  from  super- 
natural motives,  with  a view  to  Jesus  Christ  alone 

Let  us  remember  that  St.  Joseph  is  their  protector,  and 
that  consequently: 

1st.  We  should  have  confidence  in  his  assistance;  for 
our  work  is  also  his ♦ 

2d.  We  should  beseech  him  to  help  us,  and  secure  the 
success  of  our  labors. . . . 

3d.  We  should  never  allow  ourselves  to  do  anything  that 
might  scandalize  our  pupils;  for  then  their  powerful  pro- 
tector would  turn  against  us 

4th.  Let  us  inspire  them  all  with  a great  devotion  to 
him .... 

5th.  Let  us  pray  to  him  for  them ; let  us  recommend  to 
him  the  good,  that  they  may  persevere,  and  those  who  are 
not  in  grace  with  God,  that  he  may  obtain  for  them  a 
return  to  virtue 

Let  us  address  him  also  for  those  who  have  left  us,  and 

who  run  such  great  dangers  in  the  world Oh  how 

much  good  we  should  do  were  we  filled  with  sentiments 
in  harmony  with  this  belief,  that  St.  Joseph  is  the  pro- 
tector of  our  pupils ! 

Fruits. — To  love  to  speak  of  St.  Joseph  to  our  pupils  ; to  pray  to 
him  often  for  our  success  in  the  class-room. 


FORTIETH  MEDITATION. 


ST.  JOSEPH  THE  PATRON  OE  YOUTH. 


“ Thou  art,  0 Lord,  my  hope  from  my  youth.” — Ps.  lxx.  5. 


CONSIDEEATION. 

God,  whose  goodness  is  infinite,  receives  with  favor 
the  tribute  of  love  and  adoration  of  all  persons ; but  he 
has  a special  predilection  for  those  who  offer  it  to  him 
from  their  youth,  for  those  who,  at  that  period  of  life 
when  the  severest  trials  are  met  with,  secure  them- 
selves against  the  contagion  of  vice,  and  keep  their 
robe  of  innocence  unsullied. 

It  was  thus  St.  Joseph  acted ; therefore,  he  is  a per- 
fect model  for  young  persons.  He  did  not  wait  until 
his  youth  had  gone  by  to  give  himself  wholly  to  God. 
No,  no,  he  hastened  to  correspond  to  grace  as  soon  as 
he  had  heard  its  secret  voice,  and  from  his  childhood 
he  had  no  desire  but  that  of  making  himself  more 
and  more  agreeable  in  the  eyes  of  God. 

Joseph  had  an  upright  and  enlightened  soul.  He 
understood  that  man  ought  to  give  glory  to  God  at  all 
times,  since  at  all  times  he  experiences  the  effects  of 
his  goodness.  He  reflected  on  the  nature  of  the  good 
things  of  eternity  and  the  short  duration  of  human 
life,  and  he  drew  from  thence  that  it  would  be  a folly 
and  a crime  to  deduct  from  that  a single  instant  to  be 
given  either  to  creatures  or  Satan.  He  knew  that  God 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSETH. 


257 


reserved  for  himself  tlie  first  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  he 
thought,  with  reason,  that  he  reserved  still  more  for 
himself  the  first  fruits  of  the  life  of  man — that  is  to 
say,  the  period  of  youth. 

Joseph  wras  docile  to  grace.  Now,  grace  prepared 
him  for  his  sublime  mission,  and  inclined  him  from  his 
infancy  to  all  the  virtues  by  which  he  was  to  be,  one 
day,  worthy  of  being  the  spouse  of  Mary  and  the  fos- 
ter-father of  Jesus. 

Joseph  loved  God.  When  one  loves  there  is  no 
delay  in  testifying  love,  but  this  is  done  as  soon  as 
possible ; and,  in  the  order  of  grace,  this  can  always 
be  done.  Joseph,  from  the  dawn  of  his  reason,  con- 
secrated himself  to  God.  He  gave  himself  by  vow  to 
his  service,  and,  when  the  world  sought  to  engage  his 
affections,  he  turned  to  God  and  said  to  him : “ This 
heart  belongs  to  you  alone,  O my  beloved  Lord.  No 
other  flame  than  that  of  your  pure  love  shall  ever  be 
enkindled  there,  for  you  are  all  to  me,  and  there  is 
none  but  you  whom  I wish  to  please.” 

Such  are  the  reasons  why  Joseph  devoted  himself  to 
God  from  his  youth.  Let  us  recall  them  frequently  to 
mind,  and  think  of  the  virtues  that  they  inspired  him 
to  practice. 

Yes,  we  may  be  certain,  as  pious  authors  teach,  that 
there  never  was  a man  of  more  distinguished  piety, 
more  sustained  application,  and  more  generous  heart. 
He  had  an  upright  mind,  and  an  amiable  disposition. 
Those  who  looked  upon  him  were  struck  with  the  dig- 
nity of  his  behavior,  the  simplicity  of  his  manners,  the 
holiness  of  his  discourse,  and  admired  his  incompara- 
ble purity,  his  prudence  and  modesty. 


258 


.MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


J osepli  entered  on  the  career  of  perfection  from  the 
commencement  of  his  life,  and,  as  he  advanced  in  age, 
his  progress  was  more  rapid,  giving  to  his  virtues 
greater  development  and  solidity. 

But  that  which  it  is  important  we  should  consider, 
above  all,  in  Joseph,  the  model  of  youth,  is  the  practice 
of  chastity.  He  so  excelled  in  that  virtue,  that,  by  his 
presence  alone,  he  caused  it  to  be  desired  and  loved, 
while  he  inspired  at  the  same  time  a horror  of  the  op- 
posite vice.  He  knew  that  in  this  matter  a young 
man  needs  the  prudence  of  an  old,  and  on  that  account 
he  fenced  himself  round  with  every  sort  of  precaution. 
He  shunned  and  despised  the  world,  and  closed  his 
eyes  against  the  sight  of  its  seducing  pomps.  He  gave 
himself  the  habit  of  conquering  in  everything,  and  of 
never  yielding  to  a suggestion  of  Satan.  • Therefore,  his 
soul  was  pure  as  snow,  or  rather  it  resembled,  while  in 
his  mortal  body,  that  of  a heavenly  being. 

St.  Joseph  is,  then,  the  true  model  of  young  persons ; 
he  is  also,  in  a no  less  degree,  their  guide  and  their 
protector. 

Joseph,  in  the  exercise  of  his  mission  towards  Jesus, 
was  witness  of  the  all-holy,  all  the  divine  conduct  of 
that  adorable  Saviour.  He  beheld  him  not  only  during 
his  infancy,  but  also  during  his  youth.  He  can,  there- 
fore, teach  children  and  young  persons  who  wish  to  im- 
itate Jesus  Christ  and  keep  themselves  chaste  what 
they  should  do  to  obtain  from  God  that  ineffable  favor. 
Therefore,  let  them  take  him  as  their  guide,  and  let 
them  frequently  invoke  him,  above  all,  in  temptations 
that  might  compromise  their  innocency. 

St.  Joseph  feels  the  greatest  interest  in  virtuous 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


259 


young  persons,  and  considers  it  a happiness  to  be  their 
protector,  because  he  loves  them,  and  is  touched  with 
compassion  at  the  sight  of  their  dangers. 

Yes,  Joseph  loves  virtuous  young  persons.  Does  he 
not  see  in  them  what  he  was?  Does  he  not  see  in 
them  Jesus  Christ  himself,  whose  childhood  and  youth 
they  remind  him  of  ? . Does  he  not  know  that  nothing 
is  more  beautiful  than  their  souls,  which  are  shining 
with  all  the  lustre  of  grace,  and  in  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  dwells  as  in  his  temple  ? 

Joseph,  in  his  glory,  participates  in  the  most  excel- 
lent manner  in  the  dispositions  of  Jesus  Christ.  Now, 
the  heart  of  that  divine  Master  is  always  full  of  affec- 
tion for  chaste  and  religious  youth,  such  as  he  honored 
with  a special  predilection  in  the  person  of  St.  John 
the  Apostle,  called  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved.  The 
heart  of  St.  Joseph  experiences  the  same  affection, 
and,  therefore,  it  is  true  that  he  loves  youth. 

But  he  has  also  compassion  for  them  because  of  the 
great  dangers  they  run  ; for  it  is  a period  of  great  strug- 
gles, the  season  of  life,  when  the  devil  fights  against  the 
Holy  Ghost  most  fiercely  for  the  possession  of  hearts. 
Joseph  knew  how  much  men  are  tried,  agitated,  dis- 
turbed at  that  age  ; with  what  power  of  seduction  the 
world  assails  them  ^nd  seeks  to  draw  them  into  sin. 
He  knows  what  need  they  have  of  the  succor  of  Heaven 
to  resist  the  temptations  and  allurements  of  pleasure. 
On  that  account  he  offers  to  be  the  protector  of  young 
persons  who  wish  to  keep  themselves  pure ; to  be  their 
guide,  as  he  is  their  model ; to  obtain  for  them  the 
graces  they  stand  in  need  of  to  preserve  their  inno- 
cence, to  recover  it,  if  unfortunately  they  have  lost  it. 


260 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


APPLICATION. 

It  is  young  persons  whom  God  calls  to  the  religious 
life  who  ought  to  consider  St.  Joseph  as  their  patron, 
and  have  recourse  to  his  powerful  protection.  He  goes 
with  more  love  to  their  help  in  the  combats  they  have  to 
sustain  against  the  world  and  the  devil. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  patron  of  all  novices  of  religious 
congregations,  for  they  are  called  to  a life  like  to  his — 
one  wholly  of  union  with  Jesus  and  Mary.  He  is  the 
patron  also  of  those  who  are  preparing  for  the  work  of 
the  Christian  education  of  children,  for  he  employed 
his  whole  youth  in  preparing  himself  for  the  education 
of  the  Child-God  who  was  to  be  confided  to  his  care. 

Let  those  among  us  who  are  still  in  their  youth  place 
themselves  in  a special  manner  under  his  protection, 
beseeching  him  to  sustain  them,  to  help  them,  to  be 
their  support,  their  guide,  their  protector.  Imitating 
his  example,  let  them  give  themselves  resolutely  and 
without  reserve  to  God,  who  calls  them  to  his  service. 

Let  those  among  us  who  have  passed  that  age  thank 
St.  Joseph  for  having  been,  then,  propitious  to  us,  and 
let  us  do  him  homage  for  their  perseverance  up  till 
now.  We  should,  moreover,  while  remembering  the 
dangers  we  have  run,  think  of  those  that  the  young 
religious  whom  Providence  associates  with  us  have  to 
encounter,  and  should  pray  for  them  to  the  glorious 
patron  of  our  Institute. 

PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  who  wert  the  protector  of  Jesus  in  his  in- 
fancy and  youth,  remember  that  you  are- such  towards 
all  young  persons  who  wish  to  please  God  by  their  in- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


2G1 


nocence  and  piety.  Deign,  then,  to  sustain  them  in 
danger,  and  obtain  for  them  the  strength  to  resist  all 
the  evil  inclinations  of  our  undisciplined  natures. 

Protect,  O good  father,  those  among  us  whom  God 
calls  to  a religious  life.  Grant  that  they  may  enter  and 
persevere  therein  with  the  same  dispositions  with  which 
you  consecrated  yourself  to  God  in  your  youth,  and 
with  which  you  persevered  in  his  service. 

RESUME. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  patron  of  young  persons,  for  he  is  their 
model their  guide their  protector 

He  is  their  model,  because  he  was  wholly  God’s  from  his 

youth,  wishing  to  offer  him  the  first  fruits  of  his  life to 

prevent  remorse to  contract  holy  habits .... 

For  these  reasons  Joseph,  while  still  young,  excelled  in 

purity in  obedience ....  in  chastity ....  in  love  of  labor 

Everything  that  makes  a pious  and  holy  young  man 

was  to  be  found  in  him ....  His  heart  had  none  but  holy 
affections,  and  never  suffered  itself  to  give  way  to  the  love 
of  creatures 

St.  Joseph  is  the  guide  of  the  young,  because  it  is  from 
him  chiefly  they  can  learn  what  they  ought  to  do  to  make 
themselves  like  to  Jesus  Christ .... 

He  is  their  protector:  1st,  because  he  loves  them;. . . . 
2d,  because  he  is  full  of  compassion  for  them  at  the  sight 
of  the  dangers  they  run 

Let  the  young  hasten  to  place  themselves  under  his  pro- 
tection .... 

Let  those  who  are  more  advanced  in  life  remember  that 
St.  Joseph  assisted  them  in  their  youth;. . . .let  them  pray 
to  him  with  fervor  for  those  who  are  still  at  that  dan- 
gerous age .... 

Fruits. — To  recommend  our  novices  to  St.  Joseph  ; to  pray  fervently 
to  him  for  those  among  our  Brothers  who  are  most  tried  by  temptation. 


FORTY-FIRST  MEDITATION. 


JOSEPH  SANCTIFYING  HIS  LABOR. 


“Do  all  things  for  the  glory  of  God.” — 1 Cor.  x.  31. 


CONSIDERATION. 

St.  J oseph  is  a model  for  all  religious,  whether  they 
give  themselves  up  to  contemplation  or  devote  them- 
selves to  apostolic  labors,  or  works  of  charity.  The 
first  consider  him  especially  in  his  union  of  heart  with 
God.  The  second  ought,  like  the  generality  of  the 
faithful,  to  admire  him  more  especially  in  the  practice 
of  labor — always  tending  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
salvation  of  souls.  Both  classes  can  find  in  his  ex- 
ample a powerful  motive  to  make  constant  progress  in 
the  kind  of  life  to  which  they  have  been  called. 

With  a view  to  reap  that  advantage  for  ourselves, 
let  us  contemplate  St.  Joseph  engaged  in  the  labors  of 
his  occupation,  and  reflect  that  no  man  worked  with 
more  holy  dispositions,  or  for  a more  noble  end. 

St.  Joseph  labors,  in  fact,  in  a spirit  of  penance  and 
humility ; with  joy,  piety,  and  courage,  in  union  with 
Jesus  and  Mary,  and  for  Jesus  and  Mary. 

Joseph  labored  in  a spirit  of  penance,  remembering 
that  sentence  passed  upon  the  first  man,  In  the  siveat 
of  tliy  face  shall  thou  eat  bread*  and  looking  upon  the 
* Genesis  iii.  19. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


263 


fatigues  tliat  his  occupation  imposed  on  him  as  a 
means  of  satisfying  the  divine  justice. 

Joseph  labored  in  a spirit  of  humility.  The  descend- 
ant of  David,  and  endowed  with  the  best  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart,  he  chose  the  humble  profession  of  a 
carpenter,  when  no  doubt  many  careers  honorable  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world  were  open  before  him.  Ah  ! it 
was  because  he  esteemed  in  that  obscure  state  the 
very  obscurity  itself,  which  did  not  attract  the  gaze  of 
men  towards  him,  but  left  secure  against  all  vainglory. 

Joseph  labored  with  joy,  as  all  do  who  have  great 
courage.  His  fatigues  did  not  ruffle  the  serenity  of  his 
soul.  He  was  content,  because  he  knew  he  was  doing 
the  will  of  God. 

Joseph  labored  with  piety.  He  began  his  work  with 
prayer.  He  carried  it  on  in  the  presence  of  God. 
Finally,  he  offered  it  to  that  good  Master,  while  thank- 
ing him  for  having  helped  him  by  his  grace  to  do  it  well. 

Joseph  labored  with  courage  and  perseverance. 
Whatever  might  be  his  fatigue,  he  accomplished  each 
day  his  laborious  task.  His  poverty  made  it  obliga- 
tory upon  him ; but,  nevertheless,  he  did  it  far  more 
from  motives  resting  on  Jesus  and  Mary.  How,  in 
truth,  could  he  have  suffered  himself  to  give  way  to 
discouragement,  when  he  saw  the  great  Mother  of  God 
toiling  like  a poor  working  girl,  performing  the  duties 
of  humble  handmaid  to  every  one,  and  giving  herself 
no  other  rest  than  what  she  found  in  prayer  ? How 
could  his  soul  experience  any  want  of  courage,  when 
he  looked  upon  Jesus  either  as  child  or  youth  ? 

Does  not  the  Son  of  God,  in  choosing  him  as  foster- 
father,  show  that  he  wished,  from  his  entrance  into 


264 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


life,  to  follow  a career  of  suffering — to  appear  in  the 
world  only  as  a poor  artisan,  so  that  it  could  be  said  of 
him : Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son  ?*  Joseph,  then, 
comprehends  how,  to  enter  into  his  views,  he  ought  to 
lead  a life  of  labor.  Moreover,  did  he  not  see  that 
divine  Child  smile  upon  him  while  he  toiled  for  him 
and  his  most  holy  Mother  ? Did  he  not  see  him  poorly 
clothed,  poorly  fed,  expecting  all  from  his  nursing- 
father?  Oh  with  what  sentiments  of  piety  and  ad- 
miration was  his  soul  penetrated  at  the  sight  of  so 
much  humiliation ! He  could  not  but  feel  himself 
filled  with  courage. 

The  relations  of  Joseph  with  the  Child  Jesus  seem 
always  of  a nature  to  inspire  him  with  still  more 
strength  and  courage.  What  must  have  passed  in  the 
soul  of  the  poor  carpenter  who  had  for  his  apprent- 
ice the  Master  of  heaven,  whom  he  trains  up  to  work 
with  him  and  like  him  ; whom  he  sees  with  his 
divine  hands  making  use  of  the  same  tools.  Whom  he 
beholds  laboring  to  shape  some  pieces  of  wood,  gain- 
ing his  daily  bread  by  the  swTeat  of  his  brow — thus 
undergoing  himself  the  punishment  passed  upon  guilty 
man  ? He  sees  that  divine  Companion  of  his  labor, 
full  of  solicitude  in  his  regard,  eager  to  lighten  his  suf- 
ferings, and  for  that  purpose  to  choose  what  was  most 
fatiguing  in  the  common  labor,  as  much  as  the  strength 
of  his  age  allowed  him.  How  must  he  have  felt  a 
superhuman  strength  in  his  soul  at  such  a sight  ? He 
labored,  then,  with  courage  and  perseverance,  as  well 
as  with  joy  and  piety — that  is  to  say,  with  the  most 
perfect  interior  dispositions. 

* St.  Matt.  xiii.  55. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


2C5 


Let  us  consider,  in  the  second  place,  that  he  labored 
for  the  most  sublime  end  that  can  be  conceived ; for 
did  he  not  propose  to  himself  to  please  God,  and  re- 
lieve the  wants  of  Jesus  and  Mary. 

What  a source  of  reflection  for  the  pious  soul! 
Joseph  gives  himself  up  to  the  labors  of  his  trade,  and 
can  say  at  every  instant : “ I do  not  seek  in  what  I 
do  anything  but  the  accomplishment  of  his  will,  who  is 
my  sovereign  Master.  It  is  for  him ; it  is  for  his 
adorable  Son;  it  is  for  the  Queen  of  heaven  that  I 
work.  His  sweat  produces  the  bread  that  the  Infant 
God  requires,  and  consequently  increases  the  divine 
blood  that  will  be  shed  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 
The  wages  that  he  requires  at  the  end  of  his  labor  are 
destined  to  procure  necessaries  for  Him  through  whom 
everything  lives.  What  can  be  conceived  greater,  or 
more  admirable  ? Ah ! what  matters  it  that  his  trade 
is  humble,  that  his  labors  have  nothing  in  them  to  at- 
tract the  esteem  of  men.  He  ennobles  them  by  his  dis- 
positions, and  by  the  end  he  proposes  to  himself ; and 
such  is  the  dignity  thereof,  that  there  is  no  Christian 
church  that  would  not  esteem  it  a happiness  to  possess 
any  of  the  works  of  that  modest  workman,  to  offer  it 
to  the  veneration  of  the  faithful. 

In  fine,  after  having  considered  how  and  for  what 
end  Joseph  labored,  let  us  ask  ourselves  what  merits 
he  acquired  by  his  labors.  Let  us  remember  this 
principle — that  our  merits  are  in  proportion  to  the 
goodness  of  our  interior  dispositions,  to  the  lawfulness 
of  the  end  we  proposed  to  ourselves,  and  to  our  union 
with  Jesus,  through  whom  alone  we  can  please  God. 

Let  us  consider,  finally,  that  no  man  labored  with 

12 


266 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


more  holy  dispositions  than  Joseph,  nor  for  so  excel- 
lent an  end,  nor  with  a closer  union  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Let  us  reflect  that  he  labored  for  a great  number  of 
years  with  a perfection  always  becoming  greater.  Let 
us,  then,  ask  ourselves  what  ought  to  be  the  crown 
with  which  God  recompenses  the  zeal  of  his  faithful 
and  devoted  servant. 

APPLICATION. 

As  far  as  we  can,  with  the  grace  of  God,  let  us  work 
with  the  interior  dispositions  which  we  admire  in  St. 
Joseph,  and  for  the  same  end  as  he  did. 

Let  us  work  in  a spirit  of  penance  and  humility ; let 
us  esteem  the  obscurity  of  our  occupation.  For  the 
more  obscure  it  is,  our  purity  of  intention  becomes 
easier,  and  thus  it  becomes  a source  of  merit  to  us. 

Let  us  labor  for  God,  and  in  union  with  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Of  what  sort  would  our  labor  be  with- 
out that  condition  ? Alas ! we  should  exhaust  our- 
selves in  vain.  We  sow,  but  without  hopes  of  reap- 
ing ; our  labors  would  have  no  merits  for  heaven  ; and 
when  the  end  of  our  life  would  have  come,  we  might 
repeat  the  words  of  St.  Peter,  making  the  application 
thereof  to  ourselves  : Master , we  have  labored  all  night , 
and  caught  nothing .* 

Let  us,  in  a word,  labor,  like  Joseph,  for  Jesus  and 
Mary,  and  with  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  we  shall  deserve 
to  receive  the  crown  with  which  the  divine  Master  re- 
wards him  in  heaven. 


St.  Luke  y.  5. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


267 


PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  who  wert  the  most  perfect  of  saints,  teach 
me  to  labor  with  the  same  dispositions  as  you.  Give 
me  to  understand,  O my  blessed  Father,  that  it  is  by 
labor  I should  expiate  my  sins,  imitate  Jesus  Christ, 
and  merit  to  share,  one  day,  like  you,  in  the  recom- 
pense with  which  God  rewards  the  good  will  of  his  de- 
voted servants. 


R£SUM£. 

St.  Joseph,  the  model  of  the  contemplative  life,  is  like- 
wise the  model  of  the  active  life 

No  one  has  labored  in  more  holy  dispositions,  or  for 
more  excellent  motives 

Si  Joseph  labored — 1st,  in  a spirit  of  penance; 2d, 

with  humility; 3d,  with  joy; 4th,  with  piety,  with 

courage  and  perseverance 

What  sources  of  courage  did  he  not  find  in  Mary,  whom 

he  saw  act  as  the  humble  handmaid  of  all, and  still 

more  in  Jesus,  either  when  a child  or  a youth ! 

St.  Joseph  labored  for  God, for  Jesus  and  Mary. . . . 

Considered  in  itself,  his  labor  was  very  humble ; but 
how  does  it  become  ennobled  by  the  end  for  which  he  de- 
voted himself  to  it ! 

Let  us  labor,  like  St.  Joseph,  in  a spirit  of  faith,  with 
courage,  and  in  union  with  Jesus  and  Mary 

Fruits. — While  laboring,  to  renew  frequently  our  acts  of  union  with 
Jesus  Christ ; to  propose  no  end  to  ourselves  but  his  glory  and  the  sal- 
vation of  souls. 


FORTY-SECOND  MEDITATION. 


ST.  JOSEPH  PATRON  OF  THE  INSTITUTE  OF  THE  BROTHERS 
OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  SCHOOLS. 


‘‘Let  us  praise  our  God  by  venerating  St.  Joseph,  our  protector.” 

— Office  of  the  Patronage  of  St.  Joseph. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Our  Institute  being  in  a special  manner  under  the 
protection  of  St.  Joseph,  it  will  be  very  useful  for  us  to 
make  some  particular  reflections  on  this  subject. 

Let  us  consider,  then,  the  patronage  of  St.  Joseph  in 
regard  to  our  society,  in  its  source  and  in  its  motives, 
and  the  homage  that  it  has  always  paid,  and  still  pays 
to  him  as  its  glorious  and  powerful  protector. 

When  our  holy  Founder  had  accepted  his  difficult 
and  important  mission,  he  felt  that  he  could  not  estab- 
lish and  perpetuate  his  work  without  the  special  assist- 
ance of  Providence.  Then  he  examined  by  what  means 
he  could  secure  this  result,  and  he  deliberated,  among 
other  means,  on  that  of  the  patronage  of  St.  Joseph. 

Reflecting  on  the  power  of  that  great  saint,  and  the 
resemblance  of  the  life  of  the  Brothers  to  his,  he  was 
assured  that  God  wished  that  he  should  take  him  as 
special  protector  of  his  congregation.  That  he  should 
offer  him  as  a model  to  those  who  might  compose  it. 
That  he  should  lead  them  to  invoke  him  with  fervor, 
and  to  form  themselves  to  his  likeness  ; and  he  under- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


269 


stood  that  on  that  condition  the  society  would  be 
established,  and  work  much  fruit  in  souls. 

Then  our  Venerable  Father,  prostrating  himself  at 
the  foot  of  the  statue  of  St.  Joseph,  and  addressing 
himself  to  that  great  patron  of  religious  and  teachers, 
said  to  him  : “ I entrust  to  you  this  rising  society,  wholly 
devoted  to  the  glory  of  the  Child-God,  to  whom  you 
consecrated  your  life.  Permit  me,  O Joseph,  to  place 
under  your  protection  an  Institute  which  is  founded 
only  to  continue  towards  the  members  of  Jesus  Christ 
the  work  you  yourself  did  in  regard  to  that  adorable 
Saviour.’7 

The  Church,  while  approving  of  our  Institute,  con- 
firmed that  act  of  our  Venerable  Father,  and  in  the 
bull  that  raises  us  to  the  rank  of  a religious  congrega- 
tion, designated  that  holy  saint  our  patron. 

Oh  how  dear  that  choice  ought  to  be  to  us ! Let 
us  recall  to  mind  that  St.  Joseph  was  the  object  of  a 
special  vocation  to  which  he  faithfully  corresponded ; 
that  he  led  a truly  interior  life,  and  one  wholly  united 
to  God ; that  he  only  acted  from  a spirit  of  faith ; that 
he  excelled  in  obedience,  in  love  of  poverty,  in  chastity, 
in  humility,  and  that  he  is  thus  our  perfect  model  as 
religious. 

Let  us  also  remember  that  St.  Joseph  is  the  model 
of  persons  who  have  charge  of  the  education  of  youth ; 
that  he  devoted  himself  without  reserve  to  that  of  the 
Child-God,  and  that  he  practiced  in  a perfect  manner 
all  the  virtues  suited  for  a teacher. 

Let  us  add  that  St.  Joseph  led  a life  which  ours  re- 
sembles in  many  respects — a life  of  self-denial  and  sac- 
rifice— a life  that  attracted  no  notice  from  men,  and  was 


270 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


even  tlie  object  of  contempt  on  the  part  of  several — a 
life  hidden  with  Jesns  Christ,  and  to  which  he  devoted 
himself  to  concur,  on  his  part,  in  the  work  of  man’s 
redemption,  without  expecting  any  recompense  in  re- 
turn but  in  the  order  of  grace.  From  such  reflections 
we  can  understand  that  our  Venerable  Father  had  the 
justest  motives  for  placing  us  under  the  protection  of 
that  great  saint,  and  that  it  is  just  that  our  Institute 
should  always  offer  as  it  does  to  its  glorious  patron  a 
worship  of  veneration,  prayer,  and  thanksgiving. 

Let  us  remark,  in  the  first  place,  the  character  of 
universality  of  worship  paid  to  St.  Joseph  in  our  Insti- 
tute. From  the  commencement  of  our  congregation  to 
the  present  hour,  the  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools 
have  acted  towards  St.  Joseph  as  to  their  perfect  model, 
their  distinguished  protector,  and  their  loving  father. 
Wherever  our  establishments  are  to  be  found,  that  great 
servant  of  God  is  particularly  honored,  invoked,  and 
praised. 

Our  Institute  has  through  the  whole  period  paid  a 
worship  of  honor  to  St.  Joseph.  The  Brothers  have  al- 
ways looked  upon  it  as  a joy  and  a duty  to  extol  the 
power  of  his  patronage,  to  proclaim  his  prerogatives,  to 
make  them  known  to  their  pupils,  to  train  up  disciples 
for  him,  to  propagate  his  worship,  to  celebrate  his  feasts, 
to  adorn  his  altars,  to  erect  statues  to  him,  to  venerate 
his  pictures.  They  unite  him  in  the  homage  they  pay 
to  Jesus  and  Mary.  It  is  in  this  worship  of  honor  that 
each  of  us  is  called  to  associate,  and  in  which  we  feel 
the  pleasing  certainty  that  no  one  of  our  number  will 
ever  be  found  wanting. 

Our  Institute  has  paid  to  St.  Joseph  the  homage  of 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


271 


prayer.  How  many  supplications  on  tlie  part  of  our 
Brothers  have  ascended  to  liis  throne  of  glory ! How 
many  petitions  have  been  presented  to  him  since  the 
time  of  our  Venerable  Founder  to  the  present  moment! 
It  was  to  us  it  was  said  particularly,  Go  to  Joseph , and 
we  have  responded  to  the  invitation. 

How  many  of  our  Brothers,  when  afflicted  by  interior 
trials,  have  said  in  their  hearts,  “ Let  us  go  to  Joseph,57 
assured  as  they  were  that  that  good  Father  would  pro- 
cure them  repose  and  peace  of  heart ! How  many 
who,  when  tried  by  sadness  and  despondency,  have 
said,  “ Let  us  go  to  Joseph,55  and  have  found  in  the  very 
prayer  then  offered  him  a source  of  strength,  and  often 
even  the  termination  of  their  troubles ! How  many, 
when  feeling  themselves  inclined  to  tepidity,  and 
through  that  to  sin,  have,  under  the  impulse  of  grace, 
said,  “Let  us  go  to  Joseph,55  and  have  felt  at  the  foot 
of  his  altar  the  sacred  fire  of  devotion  rekindled  in 
their  souls! 

How  holy  it  is  to  contemplate  this  picture  of  all  our 
Brothers  on  their  knees  at  the  feet  of  St.  Joseph,  and 
how  calculated  it  is  to  excite  our  fervor,  without  which 
we  should  there  cast  a shadow,  or  rather  prove  a disa- 
greeable blot ! 

Our  Institute  has  rendered  to  St.  Joseph  a worship 
of  gratitude.  Our  glorious  patron  has  always  been 
pleased  to  hear  our  prayers.  He  has  found  a delight 
in  offering  our  prayers  himself  to  Mary,  and  with  her 
to  Jesus,  and  thus  obtaining  for  us  the  object  of  our 
petition.  It  was,  then,  just  on  our  part  to  testify  our 
gratitude  to  him. 

How  many  prayers  of  thanksgiving  have  been  offered 


272 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


to  liim  by  our  Brothers ! How  many  masses  have  they 
caused  to  be  offered  up  for  this  intention!  How 
many  times  from  the  same  motive  have  they  spoken  to 
their  pupils  of  his  power  and  goodness,  of  which  they 
had  experienced  the  effects ! Under  the  impression  of 
joy  at  having  been  heard,  how  many  among  them  have 
come  to  the  foot  of  the  altar,  where  they  had  poured 
forth  their  fervent  prayers  of  supplication,  to  shed 
tears  of  happiness,  because  they  had  been  heard  by  our 
beloved  patron. 

Yes,  it  is  but  justice  that  our  gratitude  to  St.  Joseph 
should  be  lively,  sincere,  and  constant!  How  many 
treasures  of  grace  have  come  to  us  through  him ! Our 
Congregation  has  passed  through  many  trials ; but  our 
protector  has  watched  it,  as  when  on  earth  he  watched 
over  the  Child  entrusted  to  his  care,  and  through  his 
succor  it  has  escaped  every  danger. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  appreciate  the  favor  which  our  society  enjoys 
of  being  placed  under  so  august  a patronage  as  that 
of  St.  Joseph.  Let  us  thank  the  Holy  Ghost  who 
inspired  the  thought  thereof  in  the  mind  of  our  Venera- 
ble Founder.  Let  us  offer  to  our  holy  patron  a worthy 
homage  of  veneration,  supplication,  and  thanksgiving. 
Let  us  honor  him  as  our  Venerable  Father  honored 
him,  and  as  our  most  fervent  Brothers  have  honored 
him. 

Let  us  go  often  to  the  foot  of  his  altar,  or  before  his 
statues,  and  there  entreat  him  to  be  propitious  to  us. 
We  have  need  of  so  many  graces ; let  us  urge  our  case, 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


273 


then,  with  him  whose  mission  it  is  to  procure  them 
for  us ! 

Let  us  pray  to  him  for  the  Institute,  for  our  supe- 
riors, our  schools,  or  novices ; let  us  pray  to  him  for 
our  most  edifying  Brothers,  that  they  may  keep  them- 
selves in  such  good  dispositions ; let  us  pray  to  him  for 
the  less  fervent,  that  they  may  return  to  the  state  from 
which  they  have  fallen;  let  us  pray  to  him  for  our- 
selves, and  ask,  above  all,  that  we  may  persevere  in  our 
vocation,  and  die  a holy  death. 

PRAYER. 

O glorious  Patron  of  our  Institute,  permit  us,  in  im- 
itation of  our  Yenerable  Founder  and  a great  number 
of  our  Brothers  who  have  been  your  devoted  servants, 
to  honor  you  by  a true  worship  of  praise,  prayer,  and 
gratitude.  Obtain  for  us  that  we  may  be  worthy  mem- 
bers of  our  society,  which  delights  to  acknowledge  you 
its  patron,  and  which  you  will  protect  the  more,  as 
it  will  contribute  to  make  Jesus  and  Mary  known, 
loved,  and  honored. 


RESUME. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  patron  of  our  Institute. . . . 

Our  Yenerable  Father  has  placed  us  under  the  protec- 
tion of  that  great  saint,  and  has  presented  him  to  us  as  a 
model. 

The  Church  afterwards  confirmed  what  he  had  done 

Let  us  remember  that  this  choice- was  the  effect  of  a 
divine  inspiration .... 

Let  us  recollect  that  St.  Joseph  led  a life  very  similar  to 
ours,  whether  considered  as  religious  or  teachers. 


274 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Let  us  remember  that  he  is  our  model  in  the  spirit  of 
faith. . . .his  love  of  poverty his  obedience. . . .his  chas- 

tity ....  his  piety; that  he  is  the  model  of  teachers  in  the 

respect  due  to  children in  devotedness vigilance 

. . . .good  example and  zeal. . . . 

Let  us  consider  that  our  Institute  has  paid  St.  Joseph 
a worship  of  veneration,  prayer,  and  thanksgiving . . . . 

Fruits. — To  recommend  our  vocation  to  St.  Joseph  ; to  ask  through 
his  intercession  the  grace  of  perseverance 


FORTY-THIRD  MEDITATION. 


ST.  JOSEPH  PATRON  OF  AFFLICTED  SOULS. 


“Through  many  tribulations  we  must  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.” 

— Acts  xiv.  21. 


CONSIDERATION. 

It  is  with  reason  that  St.  Joseph  should  be  regarded 
as  the  model  and  protector  of  afflicted  souls,  having 
been  himself  exposed  to  so  great  trials  during  the 
whole  time  he  passed  with  Jesus  and  Mary.  To  him, 
as  to  Tobias,  the  angel  could  say  : Because  tliou  wast 
acceptable  to  God , it  was  necessary  that  temptation  should 
prove  thee . "What  does  his  life  present  to  our  eyes 
but  a series  of  sufferings  and  anguish,  some  of  a kind 
that  no  language  can  describe  ? How  many  contra- 
dictions, rebuffs,  insults  on  the  part  of  men ! How 
many  apprehensions  regarding  the  life  of  the  Child- 
God,  which  was  always  threatened ! How  much  anxiety 
to  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  Holy  Family ! Did  not 
all  misfortunes  seem  conspired  against  him  ? Might  it 
not  have  been  said  of  him,  that  he  was  born  to  support 
immense  labors,  and  to  be  the  prey  of  unceasing  suf- 
ferings ? 

Yes,  Joseph  had  much  to  suffer;  but  let  us  remark 
how  he  conducted  himself  under  it,  and  how  deservedly 
he  is  the  model  of  afflicted  souls. 

Joseph  suffers,  but  he  does  not  complain;  he  does 
not  murmur.  He  is  silent  about  his  misfortunes,  and, 


276 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


speaks  of  them  only  to  God.  His  heart  remains  calm 
in  the  midst  of  tribulations.  Everything  in  him  an- 
nounces a soul  perfectly  resigned.  He  knows  only  how 
to  thank  Providence  in  adversity  as  well  as  in  prosperity. 
Arming  himself  with  patience,  he  fortifies  himself  by 
resistance  to  temptation,  and  never  allows  a shadow  of 
despondency  to  enter  his  heart.  On  the  contrary,  he 
excites  himself  to  continue  his  work  of  devotedness  and 
self-sacrifice,  and  to  give  himself  up  to  it  with  so  much 
the  more  zeal  that  it  is  to  him  a source  of  punishment. 

Joseph,  enlightened  by  the  rays  of  faith,  esteems  and 
loves  his  sufferings ; he  sees  in  them  only  the  effects  of 
the  goodness  of  God,  who  tries  his  faithful  servants, 
and  he  would  have  been  afraid  to  have  lost  his  friend- 
ship, if  he  had  been  subjected  to  fewer  contradictions. 

Joseph,  moreover,  esteemed  sufferings,  because  they 
were  to  him  occasions  of  glorifying  God  and  acquiring 
merits,  but,  above  all,  because  he  made  himself  by 
their  means  like  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  did  not  wish  to 
share  in  this  world  anything  but  poverty,  tribulation, 
and  sorrow.  Therefore,  very  far  from  murmuring,  he 
always  made  them  an  occasion  for  thanksgiving. 

Still  Joseph  sought  consolation  in  his  sufferings,  but 
he  did  not  seek  it  except  in  God. 

Let  us  consider  him  under  one  of  those  great  trials 
that  accompanied  the  early  years  of  Jesus  Christ.  He 
then  fixes  his  eyes  upon  the  divine  Child.  He  interiorly 
adores  him  suffering  for  men,  and  thus  teaching  them 
that  their  salvation  is  in  suffering  borne  for  love  of 
him ; and  presently  he  feels  himself  consoled,  animated, 
strengthened,  inflamed  to  desire  even  new  afflictions, 
so  as  to  testify  more  love  towards  him. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


277 


St.  Joseph  is  consequently  the  patron  of  afflicted 
souls,  because  he  is  their  model ; he  is  their  patron 
also  because  he  compassionates  their  sufferings.  The 
soul  of  Joseph  is  like  to  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  he  has 
a very  great  resemblance  to  that  divine  Saviour,  as 
well  as  the  closest  union  with  him.  Now,  St.  Paul 
teaches  that  we  have  in  Jesus  a High-Priest  who  knows 
how  to  compassionate  our  infirmities.  We  can,  then, 
say  in  all  truth  that  we  have  in  Joseph  a compassionate 
protector,  and  one  always  ready  to  succor  us,  when  we 
call  on  him  for  assistance.  Yes,  Joseph  is  the  true 
consoler  of  afflicted  souls.  He  was  too  long  with  Jesus 
Christ  not  to  learn  from  that  divine  Master  to  say, 
like  him,  these  words  that  have  brought  balm  to  many 
a wounded  heart : Gome  to  me  all  you  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden , and  I will  refresh  you* 

Joseph  compassionated  souls  in  suffering,  because  he 
had  himself  suffered  much.  Those  who  have  expe- 
rienced no  afflictions  are  very  insensible  to  those  of 
their  brethren;  but  it  is  not  so  with  those  who,  like 
him,  have  had  to  experience  great  sufferings. 

Let  us  add  that  Joseph  is  in  the  highest  degree  like 
to  Mary,  and  that  Mary  is  invoked  by  the  whole 
Church  under  the  title  of  “ Comfortress  of  the  afflicted.” 

In  fine,  Joseph  is  the  patron  of  afflicted  souls,  be- 
cause he  obtains  for  them  the  graces  they  stand  in  need 
of  in  their  painful  state. 

And,  in  truth,  does  not  the  Church  teach  us  that 
“ whoever  wishes  to  have  spiritual  health,  has  only  to 
implore  the  succor  of  Joseph  ?”t  What  does  this  sig- 
nify, but  that  Joseph  helps  in  a particular  manner  weak. 

* St.  Matt.  xi.  28.  f Response  Quicumque. 


278 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


souls — those  that  are  in  desolation  of  spirit  and  inclined 
to  despondency.  In  recompense  for  the  consolations 
he  procured  to  Jesus  and  Mary,  God  gave  him  a pecu- 
liar grace  for  consoling  and  assisting  those  who  are  in 
affliction,  and  who  have  recourse  to  his  benevolent  pro- 
tection. Therefore,  it  is  to  them,  above  all,  that  it  is 
said : Go  to  Joseph,  and  do  all  that  he  shall  say  to  you* 

Oh  how  many  unhappy  souls  have  followed  this 
counsel ! How  many  souls  in  desolation  of  spirit  have 
come  to  the  foot  of  the  altar  of  St.  Joseph,  and  have 
there  found  balm  for  their  wounds — that  is  to  say,  the 
hope  of  being  soon  consoled,  or  the  strength  to  suffer 
still  more,  if  such  be  the  will  of  God. 

How  great  is  the  number,  especially  of  our  Brothers, 
whom  our  good  father  has  succored,  and  dried  their 
tears ! How  many  have  gone  to  him  in  interior  dark- 
ness whose  souls  have  been  restored  to  peace  ! How 
many  have  gone  to  him  when  they  were  in  distress  on 
their  own  account,  or  that  of  persons  dear  to  them,  and 
have  experienced  that  he  is  never  invoked  in  vain,  when 
invoked  with  fervor ! 

Behold,  O afflicted  souls ! how  God  gives  you  in  St. 
Joseph  a model  and  a protector.  Remember  always 
that  he  was  patient  and  resigned  in  adversity ; but  he 
never  lost  heart,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was  strengthened 
by  trials.  That  he  looked  on  his  sufferings  only  from 
the  point  of  view  of  faith,  and  that,  consequently,  he 
esteemed  and  loved  them.  That,  in  fine,  he  sought  con- 
solation only  in  God,  only  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  adorable 
Son,  the  first  model  and  only  true  consoler  of  those 
that  suffer.  Remember  that  he  is  always  ready  to  suc- 
* Genesis  xlL  55. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


279 


cor  you,  and  that  nothing  is  more  profitable  to  you 
than  to  have  recourse  to  him  with  the  most  entire  con- 
fidence. 


APPLICATION. 

The  life  of  man  upon  earth  being  a constant  warfare, 
it  is  not  possible  that  we  should  be  without  suffering. 
Our  efforts,  therefore,  should  tend  less  to  avoiding 
them  than  sanctifying  them. 

When  we  are  in  suffering,  let  us  imitate  St.  Joseph, 
the  patron  of  afflicted  souls.  Let  us  accept  our  suff- 
erings with  resignation.  Let  us  support  them  with 
courage  and  in  a spirit  of  faith,  and  let  us  seek  our 
consolation  only  in  God. 

Like  Joseph,  let  us  esteem  the  trials  to  which  Provi- 
dence subjects  us,  remembering  that  adversity  purifies 
the  just  soul,  as  fire  refines  gold,  and  that  the  sufferings 
of  the  present  life  have  no  proportion  with  the  glory 
that  they  merit  for  us  in  heaven.  If  we  were  faithful 
imitators  of  St.  Joseph,  very  far  from  dreading  suffer- 
ings, we  should  first  ask  the  grace  of  Christian  pa- 
tience, and  afterwards  that  of  experiencing  a greater 
number,  so  as  to  make  ourselves  more  like  to  Jesus 
suffering.  We  should  cry  out  with  St.  Theresa,  that 
worthy  imitator  of  St.  Joseph,  “ O Lord,  either  to  suf- 
fer or  to  die.” 

In  fine,  let  us  go  to  Joseph,  our  comforter ; let  us 
pray  to  him  with  fervor  and  confidence.  We  shall 
always  find  in  him  a compassionate  father,  who  will 
hasten  to  dry  our  tears,  and  to  procure  for  us  hope, 
peace  of  mind,  and  true  joy. 


280 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  you  whose  life  was,  if  we  may  say  so,  but 
a series  of  sorrows,  labors,  and  contradictions,  obtain 
for  us  that  we  may  imitate  you  in  the  trials  to  which 
Providence  subjects  us.  Grant  that  we  may  accept 
them  with  faith  and  resignation,  so  as  to  merit  to  be 
admitted  with  you  into  the  abode  of  happiness,  where 
our  tears  of  a few  moments  will  be  changed  in  a hap- 
piness that  will  never  end. 

RESUME. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  patron  of  afflicted  souls,  for  he  is  their 
model  when  under  affliction;  he  compassionates  their  suf- 
ferings; he  procures  for  them  the  graces  they  stand  in 
need  of. 

St.  Joseph  experienced  all  sorts  of  contradictions  and 
sufferings,  but  looking  at  them  from  the  point  of  view  of 
faith,  he  was  full  of  resignation  and  peace,  and  sought  his 
consolation  only  in  God .... 

St.  Joseph  compassionates  afflicted  souls,  for  his  heart 
is  like  to  that  of  Jesus,  which  pitied  our  miseries;  besides, 
he  knew  by  experience  what  it  was  to  suffer 

Joseph  is  the  protector  of  those  who  are  in  suffering. 
He  has  received  a special  grace  for  that  end,  in  recompense 
for  what  he  suffered  for  Jesus  and  Mary 

Oh  how  many  persons  have  invoked  him  in  their  desola- 
tion of  soul,  and  have  experienced  the  happy  effects  of  his 

assistance! Let  us  imitate  them  when  we  are  in  the 

same  situation. 

It  is  not  possible  for  us  to  live  upon  earth  without  suf- 
ferings. Let  us,  then,  determine  upon  our  course,  and, 
like  St.  Joseph,  think  only  of  sanctifying  our  sufferings. 

Fruits. — To  bless  God  in  the  trials  of  life  : to  have  recourse  to  St. 
Joseph  under  everything  that  causes  us  suffering. 


FORTY-FOURTII  MEDITATION. 


JOSEPH  INTERCEDES  FOR  SINNERS. 


“ God  turned  it  into  good,  that  he  might  exalt  me,  as  at  present  you 
see,  and  might  save  many  people.” — Genesis  1.  20. 


CONSIDERATION. 

St.  Joseph  understood  better  than  others  how 
greatly  the  adorable  heart  of  Jesus  and  the  most  holy 
heart  of  Mary  compassionated  the  unfortunate ; and 
on  that  account,  yielding  to  the  same  sentiment,  he 
implores  the  divine  mercy  for  them. 

But  of  all  the  unfortunate,  the  most  to  be  pitied  are 
surely  sinners,  and,  above  all,  hardened  sinners. 
Joseph  becomes  their  intercessor  with  God,  and  be- 
seeches Jesus  Christ  to  work  in  their  behalf  the 
miracle  of  grace,  that  can  alone  restore  them  to  true  life. 

St.  Joseph  beholds  them  in  enmity  with  God,  placed 
under  the  power  of  the  devil,  hanging  on  the  brink  of 
the  abyss  of  hell,  and  in  danger  of  being  hurled  into  it 
at  every  instant.  He  recalls  to  mind  the  sufferings, 
the  anguish  he  experienced  on  the  occasion  of  the  loss 
of  the  Child  Jesus  at  Jerusalem,  though  he  had  only 
lost  him  outwardly,  and  through  no  fault  of  his  own. 
He  understands  how  infinitely  more  their  condition 
is  to  be  deplored  than  his,  since  they  have  lost  Jesus 
through  their  own  fault,  and  may  be  at  any  instant 
assured  hi  that  the  separation  is  forever. 


282 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Joseph  intercedes  for  sinners  through  zeal  for  the 
glory  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  knows  that  that  divine 
Saviour  came  into  this  world  principally  to  deliver 
men  from  their  sins  ; that  his  great  work  was  to  make 
grace  abound  where  iniquity  had  abounded  ; that  he 
is  the  Lamb  offered  up  to  efface  the  sins  of  the  world. 
He  has  thought  upon,  reckoned,  if  we  may  say  so,  what 
Jesus  has  done  to  save  man  from  hell.  He  knows  at 
what  price  he  valued  their  souls ; for  each  of  whom, 
after  having  offered  himself  up  without  reserve  to  the 
justice  of  his  heavenly  Father,  he  led  a life  of  priva- 
tions and  sufferings,  to  terminate  by  the  most  painful, 
or,  rather,  the  only  true  sacrifice.  He  cannot,  then,  but 
be  penetrated  with  zeal  for  their  salvation,  and  assist 
them  by  his  protection  to  recover  their  innocence,  and 
thereby  secure  the  fruits  of  the  sacrifice  of  Calvary. 

Joseph  intercedes  for  sinners  from  conformity  of  sen- 
timent to  the  heart  of  Jesus.  He  understands  the 
desire  of  that  adorable  Redeemer — that  all  men  should 
be  saved.  He  sees  how  his  divine  soul  was  pierced 
with  grief  at  the  thought  of  the  great  number  who  do 
not  wish  the  salvation  he  presents  to  them,  and  which 
cost  him  so  much.  On  that  account  he  strives  to 
bring  them  back  to  the  path  of  virtue,  and  to  make 
them  worthy  of  heaven,  and  therefore  be  to  the  heart 
of  Jesus  the  source  of  the  sweetest  and  most  ineffable 
consolation. 

Such  are  the  principal  motives  of  the  intercession  of 
St.  Joseph  for  sinners.  Let  us  reflect  now  on  the  as- 
sistance he  procures  them. 

“ God/’  says  St.  Theresa,  “ has  in  some  sort  made 
St.  Joseph  his  minister,  his  plenipotentiary,  his 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


283 


general  treasurer  in  favor  of  all  who  are  in  distress.” 
Therefore,  that  charitable  patriarch  draws  with  promp- 
titude from  the  treasury  of  grace,  to  come  to  the  aid  of 
sinners — that  is  to  say,  of  persons  who,  of  all  in  mis- 
fortune, have  the  most  need  of  succor. 

Yes,  Joseph  prays  for  sinners.  He  speaks  in  their 
behalf  to  God  the  Father,  and  beseeches  him,  by  the 
merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  take  pity  on  their  souls,  and 
give  them  the  grace  of  conversion.  He  speaks  in  their 
behalf  to  God  the  Son ; he  reminds  Jesus  that  his 
coming  upon  earth  was  for  them,  even  more  than  for 
the  just,  according  to  these  words,  I am  not  come  to  call 
the  just , hut  sinners  ;*  he  places  before  him  all  that  he 
has  done  and  suffered  in  his  infinite  clemency  to  merit 
their  pardon ; and  he  entreats  that  so  many  labors 
and  sufferings  may  not  be  in  vain.  He  prays  to  him 
for  sinners,  through  his  sacred  heart,  so  full  of  com- 
passion for  those  sinners  ; through  Mary,  their  refuge, 
with  whom  he  unites  his  prayers  ; through  all  that  he 
himself  has  done  and  suffered  for  that  divine  Saviour 
during  the  thirty  years  he  passed  with  him  upon  earth. 
He  invokes  in  their  behalf  the  Holy  Ghost.  He 
pleads  their  cause  powerfully  with  Mary,  his  holy 
spouse.  Nothing,  in  a word,  is  forgotten  on  his  part  to 
prepare  and  secure  their  return  to  God. 

Who  does  not  understand  from  this  that  he  obtains 
for  these  unhappy  people  many  and  powerful  graces  of 
conversion,  those  interior  stings  of  conscience  that  ex- 
cite remorse,  make  them  see  all  the  heinousness  of  sin, 
discover  to  them  the  beauty  of  virtue,  inspire  them 
with  the  desire  for  it,  give  them  the  will  for  it,  and 


St.  Matt.  ix.  13. 


284 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


raise  the  sentiments  of  the  soul  towards  God,  who  is 
always  ready  to  forgive.  He  urges  the  guilty  soul  till 
it  cries  out  with  David,  It  is  I that  have  sinned .*  He 
makes  it  embrace  with  courage  and  persevere  with 
constancy  in  a life  of  expiation,  and  thus  bringing  it 
back  by  repentance  to  perfect  charity,  and  through 
that  to  peace  and  happiness  ? 

Besides,  these  are  facts  of  experience,  and  all  those 
who  are  devout  to  St.  Joseph  can  testify  to  their  truth. 
Who  is  there  that  has  recommended  a relation  or 
friend  to  him,  and  has  not  seen  his  prayer  heard  be- 
yond his  hopes?  Where  is  the  sinner  who,  having 
had  recourse  to  him,  with  some  desire  for  conversion, 
has  not  felt  his  heart  weaned  from  vice  and  drawn  to 
virtue,  or  has  not,  at  least,  felt  himself  solicited  there- 
to by  a special  grace  ? Where  is  the  young  man  who, 
having  placed  his  future  under  the  protection  of  St. 
Joseph,  has  not  the  happiness  of  preserving  himself 
from  the  contagion  of  vice,  or  has  not  been  soon 
brought  back  to  the  path  of  virtue,  if  he  had  the  mis- 
fortune of  straying  from  it  in  a season  of  trial  ? 

It  is  a well-established  fact  that  St.  Joseph  inter- 
cedes for  sinners ; that  his  intercession  is  most  power- 
ful ; that  to  have  recourse  to  him  frequently,  either  for 
ourselves  or  others,  is  to  enter  fully  into  the  designs  of 
God’s  providence. 


APPLICATION. 

Let  us  invoke  St.  Joseph  as  the  intercessor  for  sin- 
ners ; let  us  pray  to  him,  first,  for  ourselves,  for  we 
commit  so  many  faults  that  we  are  a great  subject  of 

® 1 Paral.  xxi.  17. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


285 


compassion  to  liim.  We  know  not  if  we  are  worthy  of 
love  or  hatred  ; whether,  consequently,  we  may  not  be 
among  the  number  of  those  who  are  in  the  state  of  sin. 
Let  us  take  him,  then,  for  our  advocate  and  our  inter- 
cessor with  God.  Let  us  beg  him  to  offer  to  Him  for 
us  his  sweat  and  weariness  in  union  with  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ — the  Victim  through  whom  we  ask  for 
mercy,  and  hope  to  obtain  it. 

Let  us  be  penetrated  with  the  sentiments  of  St. 
Joseph  towards  sinners.  Let  us  have  compassion  on 
their  state.  Let  us  excite  ourselves  to  great  zeal  for 
the  salvation  of  their  souls ; and  let  that  zeal  lead  us, 
above  all,  to  pray  to  that  great  saint  for  them,  and  to 
offer  some  sacrifice  to  God  to  obtain  their  conversion. 
Let  us  remember  that  this  is  the  work  that  is  most 
pleasing  to  the  heart  of  Jesus. 

Let  us  recommend  to  St.  Joseph,  those  among  our 
pupils  whom  w~e  see  corresponding  least  to  our  care  ; 
those  who  appear  to  us  to  enter  upon  the  path  of  evil 
almost  as  soon  as  they  have  entered  upon  that  of  life ; 
those  who,  after  having  made  some  efforts  to  keep 
themselves  virtuous,  have  had  the  weakness  to  yield  to 
the  suggestions  of  the  devil. 

Let  us  recommend  to  him  those  among  our  relations 
who  are 'least  given  to  religious  practices.  We  owe 
them  gratitude  ; let  us  acquit  ourselves  of  the  debt  by 
obtaining  for  them,  through  the  intercession  of  St. 
Joseph,  the  grace  of  their  conversion — that  is  to  say, 
the  greatest  blessing  that  can  be  procured  for  them. 


286 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PEAYEE. 

Glorious  St.  Joseph,  we  come  full  of  confidence  in 
your  charity  to  ask  your  intercession  in  behalf  of  the 
souls  that  are  in  the  state  of  sin.  Obtain  for  them  the 
grace  of  comprehending  their  misfortune,  and  deliver- 
ing themselves  from  it  by  a perfect  return  to  God  and 
virtue.  They  will  give  you  glory  for  it  in  that  heaven 
which  you  shall  have  opened  to  them  by  your  all- 
powerful  intercession. 

R&STJM&. 

Joseph  intercedes  for  sinners  through  pity  for  them,  for 

he  knows  how  unfortunate  they  are ; through  zeal  for 

the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  consists,  above  all,  in  the 

salvation  of  souls; through  conformity  of  sentiments 

with  that  divine  Saviour  whose  greatest  desire  is  that  all 
men  should  profit  by  the  merits  of  his  sufferings .... 

Joseph  himself  prays  to  the  most  Holy  Trinity  in  behalf 
of  sinners. 

He  offers,  for  their  conversion,  the  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ ....  the  graces  of  Mary ....  what  he  himself  has 
done  for  Jesus  and  Mary. 

Thus  he  has  obtained  great  graces  for  them. 

Let  us  have  recourse  to  St.  Joseph,  who  intercedes  for 
sinners.  Let  us  pray  to  him  for  ourselves,  who  are  sin- 
ners  Let  us  pray  to  him  for  those  of  our  relations, 

friends,  pupils,  who  may  be  in  a state  of  sin ....  Let 
us  remember  that  to  pray  for  sinners  is  the  greatest  work 

of  mercy; and  that  we  cannot  but  be  heard  when  we 

pray  to  St.  Joseph  with  fervor  and  confidence. 

Fruits. — To  cherish  in  ourselves  sentiments  of  pity  for  sinners ; to 
impose  on  ourselves  some  sacrifices  to  obtain  their  conversion  ; to  re- 
commend success  with  our  pupils  to  St.  Joseph. 


FOHTY-FIFTII  MEDITATION. 

ST.  JOSEPH  PROTECTOR  OF  THOSE  IN  THEIR  AGONY. 


11  When  he  saw  that  the  day  of  his  death  drew  nigh,  he  called  his  son 
Joseph.’7 — Genesis  xlvii.  29. 


CONSIDEBATION. 

Be  you  cdso  ready , says  Jesus  Christ,  because  at  what 
hour  you  know  not , the  Son  of  man  ivill  come*  We 
ought,  therefore,  to  pass  our  lives  in  expectation  of  the 
moment  that  will  end  it,  and  which  is  for  us  the  most 
important  of  all,  since  it  will  decide  our  fate  for  eterni- 
ty. We  ought  also  to  think  of  the  means  of  securing 
for  ourselves  at  that  last  hour  the  assistance  of  Heaven. 

But  next  to  the  assistance  of  Mary,  none  can  be 
more  profitable  to  us  than  that  of  Joseph,  who  is  all- 
powerful  with  the  divine  Child  of  his  adoption.  Let  us 
do,  then,  all  that  depends  on  us  to  procure  it,  and  for 
that  end  let  us  this  day  meditate  on  St.  Joseph  as 
protector  of  those  in  their  agony.  Let  us  see  how  that 
title  is  suitable  to  him,  and  of  what  nature  is  the  pro- 
tection that  he  accords  them. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  protector  of  those  in  their  agony, 
because  he  is  the  best  of  friends,  and  it  is  at  the  hour 
of  death  that  we  have  most  need  of  assistance.  In 
truth,  what  a moment  is  that  for  man  when  everything 
passes  from  him,  when  all  abandon  him.  When  he  sees 
himself  on  the  point  of  leaving  this  world  of  time  to 
* St.  Matt.  xxiv.  44. 


288 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


enter  on  that  of  eternity;  when  he  is  laboring  under  the 
greatest  bodily  weakness,  not  being  able  to  attend  to 
his  soul,  or,  if  able  to  do  so,  asking  himself  anxiously 
what  sentence  the  sovereign  Judge  is  about  to  pro- 
nounce ! Oh ! then  it  is  he  that  has  need  of  assistance. 
Therefore  it  is,  above  all,  at  that  hour  which  has  ap- 
peared terrible  even  to  the  greatest  saints,  that  our 
glorious  patron  comes  to  our  aid,  and  thus  shows  him- 
self our  generous  friend,  when  our  earthly  friends  can 
no  longer  do  anything  for  us. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  protector  of  those  in  their  agony. 
Knowing  what  our  souls  have  cost  our  adorable 
Saviour,  he  seizes  with  eagerness  upon  every  op- 
portunity of  opposing  the  devil,  who,  at  the  hour  of 
death,  redoubles  his  efforts  to  accomplish  our  ruin. 
Joseph,  who  saved  the  Child  Jesus  from  the  fury  of 
Herod,  and  who  procures  the  grace  of  strength  to  all 
who  invoke  him  in  their  temptations,  is  called  by  the 
Church  “ the  vanquisher  of  hell.”  Could  it  be  that  he 
would  not  come  to  the  help  of  the  faithful  Christian 
when  about  to  die — at  a time  when  the  enemy  of  salva- 
tion was  making  his  last  assaults  upon  him,  and  multi- 
plying his  devices  to  bring  him  into  sadness,  and  even 
despair  ? He  does  not  abandon  him.  He  makes  haste 
to  help  him,  so  as  to  snatch  his  prey  from  the  devil, 
and  prevent  him  from  carrying  off  a soul  redeemed  by 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  assistance  of  St.  Joseph  towards  all  in  their 
agony  is  affirmed  by  the  Church  in  that  response  which 
we  recite  every  day:  “ Whoever  desires  to  terminate 
his  course  of  life  in  joy,  let  him  invoke  St.  Joseph.”* 

* Office  of  St.  Joseph. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSETII. 


289 


It  may  also,  to  a certain  extent,  be  demonstrated  by 
facts.  We  indeed  have  a most  striking  proof  of  it  in 
our  Institute.  That  proof  is  the  peace  and  tranquillity 
which  the  great  majority  of  our  Brothers  enjoy  at  the 
approach  of  death.  It  is  evident  that  they  are  assisted 
in  a particular  manner  by  Heaven  at  that  dread  mo- 
ment, and  that,  under  the  care  of  our  vigilant  and 
beloved  patron,  they  sleep  without  trouble  the  sleep 
of  the  friends  of  God,  from  which  they  will  awaken  in 
the  heavenly  country. 

St.  Joseph  is  the  protector  of  those  in  their  agony. 
He  received  himself  at  the  last  moments  of  his  life 
the  most  desirable  succor  and  the  most  ineffable  con- 
solations. He,  who  had  the  happiness  to  die  between 
Jesus  and  Mary  has  at  his  disposal  particular  graces 
for  Christians  at  the  point  of  death ; he  has,  moreover, 
the  greatest  power  of  intercession  with  the  supreme 
Judge ; it  is  to  him,  therefore,  we  must  have  recourse 
to  obtain  the  grace  of  dying  in  friendship  with  God. 

Having  considered  that  St.  Joseph  is  the  protector  of 
those  in  agony,  let  us  see  how  he  exercises  that  ministry 
of  mercy  towards  those  who  have  recourse  to  him. 

Joseph,  the  horror  of  hell,  chases  the  enemies  of  sal- 
vation from  the  dying  man ; he  remains  beside  his  bed 
of  suffering ; he  gives  him  to  understand  that  he  has 
become  his  defender  with  Jesus  Christ,  that  he  will 
plead  his  cause  and  obtain  a favorable  sentence.  He 
sustains  him  by  hopeful  thoughts,  and  shows  him 
heaven,  which  will  soon  be  his  inheritance,  and  Jesus 
in  heaven,  who  says  to  him : Come  to  me , all  you  that 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I ivill  refresh  you.* 

* Matt.  xi.  28. 

13 


290 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


Joseph  places  before  the  eyes  of  the  dying  person 
the  most  pleasing  images ; he  presents  himself  to  him 
full  of  sweetness  and  goodness..  He  shows  him  Mary, 
his  most  holy  spouse,  who  is  the  good  mother  of  all 
Christians,  and  whose  happiness  it  is  to  assist  them  by 
her  all-powerful  protection. 

Joseph  inspires  into  the  mind  of  the  Christian  about 
to  die  sentiments  of  love  towards  God,  conformity  to 
his  holy  will,  perfect  detachment  from  creatures,  union 
with  Jesus  suffering,  and,  consequently,  gives  him  the 
greatest  motives  for  confidence. 

Behold  in  what  consists  the  assistance  of  St.  Joseph 
towards  those  in  then  agony  ! he  continues  it  to  them 
all  the  time  that  the  combat  lasts ; and  when  the  last 
moment  has  come — when  the  bonds  that  detained  the 
soul  in  the  body  are  suddenly  burst — he  takes  it  in  his 
arms  with  paternal  kindness,  presents  it  to  Mary,  and, 
with  her,  presents  it  to  Jesus,  that  merciful  Saviour, 
who,  while  receiving  it  with  love,  says  to  it.  “ Come, 
O soul,  blessed  by  my  Father  in  heaven,  and  in  whom 
my  father  on  earth  has  felt  so  great  an  interest,  come 
to  share  the  happiness  of  him  who  was  your  loving  pro- 
tector, and  make  yourself  the  source  of  the  greatest  joy 
to  him  by  testifying  a boundless  gratitude.5’ 

APPLICATION. 

After  having  considered  the  reasons  for  which  St. 
Joseph  is  honored  as  protector  of  those  in  their  agony, 
and  the  salutary  assistance  that  he  gives  to  Christians 
in  their  last  moments,  let  us  consider  the  means  of 
securing  it  to  ourselves. 

Those  who  experience,  above  all,  the  effects  of  the 


MEDITMIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


291 


protection  of  St.  Joseph  at  the  approach  of  death,  are 
such  as  have  a true  devotion  to  him,  and  who  have 
asked  his  assistance  for  that  closing  hour.  Hence  it 
is  easy  to  deduce  what  we  ought  to  do  to  obtain  that 
this  inestimable  protection  be  extended  to  us  in  those 
circumstances  that  will  decide  our  eternal  destiny. 

Do  we  wish  that  St.  Joseph  may  assist  us  in  our 
agony?  let  us  enter  into  the  practices  of  his  devotion 
in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  our  Institute.  We 
shall  then  be  able  to  look  without  fear  at  the  approach 
of  death.  Our  holy  patron  does  not  abandon  those 
who  have  a firm,  constant,  and  true  devotion  to  him. 

No,  no,  such  shall  never  perish.  They  shall  not  die 
in  sin  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  honor  him. 
That  tender  father  will  protect  them  in  the  hour  of 
their  agony,  and  will  save  them  from  the  hands  of 
Satan,  as  he  saved  the  Child  Jesus  from  the  hands  of 
Herod. 

Let  us  honor  him,  and  cause  him  to  be  honored  as 
much  as  depends  on  us.  Let  us  often  pray  to  him,  re- 
commending to  him  our  departure  from  this  world. 
Let  us  pray  to  him  for  those  in  agony,  of  wrhom  there 
are  so  many  every  hour.  Let  us  pray  to  him  for  those 
thousands  of  persons  who,  at  this  very  moment,  are 
engaged  in  that  last  combat  whose  issue  will  be  heaven 
or  hell.  But,  above  all,  let  us  try  to  imitate  his  virtues, 
for  that  is  the  most  certain  means  of  securing  for  our- 
selves his  all-powerful  protection. 

Happy  shall  we  be  in  the  day  of  distress,  if  we  have 
had  a true  devotion  to  St.  Joseph.  We  shall  watch 
with  the  most  consoling  peace  of  mind  the  approach 
of  our  last  hour,  and  we  shall  see  it  slowly  passing 


292 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


away  with  the  best-founded  confidence  that  our  soul 
shall  quit  this  land  of  exile  only  to  be  conducted  by 
our  glorious  patron  to  its  true  country. 

PEAYEE. 

O Joseph,  protector  of  those  in  agony,  take  pity  on 
such  as,  at  this  very  moment  when  I pray  to  you,  are 
engaged  in  their  last  combat.  Take  pity  on  my  soul 
wThen  the  hour  shall  have  come  when  I must  wage  it. 
Then,  O my  holy  patron,  do  not  abandon  me ; but  in 
granting  me  your  assistance,  show  that  you  are  my 
good  father,  and  grant  that  my  divine  Saviour  may  re- 
ceive me  in  mercy  into  that  abode  where  the  elect  enjoy 
a life  that  shall  never  end ! 

b£sitm£. 

Joseph  is  the  protector  of  those  in  their  agony,  because 
he  is  our  best  friend  ; and  it  is  at  the  approach  of  death 
that  we  have  most  need  of  assistance He  comes  to  de- 

fend Christians  in  the  last  assaults  the  devil  makes  upon 
them .... 

Joseph  remembers  the  assistance  he  received  from  Jesus 
and  Mary  at  the  approach  of  death,  and  he  intercedes  for 
us,  that  we  may  enjoy  the  same  advantage 

He  himself  assists  us  by  his  protection,  defends  us 
against  the  enemy  of  our  salvation,  and  gives  us  the  just- 
est  motives  for  hoping  for  eternal  happiness. 

Let  us  make  certain,  by  a true  devotion  towards  him,  of 
the  assistance  of  our  holy  patron  in  the  hour  of  death 

Let  us  not  forget  that  the  best  means  of  obtaining  his 
protection  is  to  endeavor  to  imitate  his  virtues .... 

Fruits. — To  pray  for  those  in  agony  ; to  think  often  on  the  hour  of 
our  death  ; to  implore  the  protection  of  St.  Joseph  for  the  moment  that 
will  decide  our  hereafter. 


FORTY-SIXTH  MEDITATION. 


LAST  MOMENTS  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“I  have  fought  a good  fight;  I have  finished  my  course.’ ’ 

—11  Tim.  iv.  7. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Let  us  go  to  the  bedside  of  St.  Joseph,  at  the  last 
moments  that  he  passed  in  this  land  of  exile ; let  us 
enter  into  his  humble  habitation,  and  with  the  eyes  of 
faith  contemplate  the  spectacle  offered  to  us.  Let  us 
see  that  great  servant  of  God  stretched  upon  his  poor 
pallet,  having  on  one  side  our  divine  Saviour,  and  on 
the  other  the  most  holy  Yirgin.  He  is  pale,  weak,  al- 
most without  motion ; life  is  flickering  within  him  ; his 
eyes  are  about  to  close  to  the  light  of  this  world ; he 
draws  near  to  the  end  of  his  holy  career.  Yes,  let  us 
assist  at  the  death  of  the  justest  of  men,  and  reflect 
what  it  presents  to  us  to  console  us.  Let  us  consider 
what  it  shows  of  the  goodness  of  God  towards  those 
who,  in  their  days  of  trial,  think  only  how  to  please 
him,  and  desire  the  fulfilment  of  his  adorable  will. 

Joseph  is  about  to  die ; but  it  is  at  that  moment, 
above  all,  that  the  angel  of  the  Lord  might  say  to  him, 
as  to  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem  : I bring  you  tidings 
of  great  joy.  Everything,  in  fact,  is  of  a nature  calcu- 
lated to  produce  that  sentiment  in  him,  and  procure 
him  the  most  ineffable  consolations,  whether  he  recalls 


294 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


the  past,  considers  the  present,  or  allows  his  thoughts 
to  penetrate  into  the  future. 

Joseph,  in  dying,  looks  at  the  past  portion  of  his 
life,  or  rather  his  whole  life,  since  all  is  now  ending, 
and  each  of  the  moments  that  compose  it  is  to  him  a 
subject  of  confidence.  He  recalls  the  holy  actions  he 
has  done,  the  fidelity  with  which  he  corresponded  to 
the  graces  of  God,  the  labors  to  which  he  devoted  him- 
self for  Jesus  and  his  divine  Mother.  He  sees  the 
stable  at  Bethlehem  where  he  adored  at  his  birth  the 
God  made  man,  the  temple  wThere  he  presented  him  to 
God  his  Father,  the  land  of  Egypt  to  which  he  brought 
him  to  save  him  from  the  fury  of  Herod.  He  remembers 
that  he  never  left  him,  but  was  always  devoted  to  his 
service.  Then  he  repeats  these  words  which  the  great 
Apostle  was  afterwards  to  pronounce  : I have  fought  a 
good fight ; I have  finished  my  course  ; I have  kept  the faith ; 
for  the  rest  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a crown  of  justice.* 
The  consideration  of  the  present  brings  likewise  the 
sweetest  consolations  to  Joseph. 

A laborer  of  the  divine  father  of  the  human  family, 
he  has  come  to  the  end  of  the  day,  and  sees  the  termi- 
nation of  his  labors  and  fatigues.  He  can  apply  to  him- 
self those  words  which  the  beloved  disciple  was  after- 
wards to  write  : Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord.\ 
He  knows  that  no  one  more  than  he  had  a right  to 
use  these  words  of  David  : Into  thy  hands  I commend  my 
spirit ; thou  hast  redeemed  me , 0 Lord  the  God  of  truth.% 
Joseph,  in  his  last  moments,  sees  beside  him  Jesus 
Christ,  his  Lord  and  his  God,  who  was  pleased  to  be 
his  adopted  son,  and  who  assists  him  with  all  the  ten- 

* 11  Tim.  iv  7.  f Apoc.  xiv.  13.  JPs.  xxx.  6. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


295 


clerness  of  liis  divine  heart.  His  eyes  are  fixed  on  that 
deserving  object  of  his  adorations,  and  express  the 
desire  of  his  soul  to  quit  the  body  which  retains  it 
here  below,  and  to  go  and  rest  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Divinity  it  contemplates.  Joseph  sees  also  at  his  side 
the  most  holy  Virgin,  who  lavishes  the  cares  of  her 
affectionate  charity  upon  him,  while  she  prays  for  him 
to  the  God  who  always*  hears  her. 

Joseph  sees  Jesus,  and  at  that  sight  the  holy  love 
already  so  great  in  his  soul  becomes  enlarged  and 
attains  its  perfect  development.  The  heart  of  Joseph 
is  all  on  fire  with  the  flames  of  charity,  and  it  is  a fire 
that  burns  the  last  fetters  that  bind  him  to  earth. 

Joseph  sees  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  his  intellect,  en- 
lightened by  the  brightest  heavenly  light  it  has  yet  en- 
joyed, discovers  in  a greater  degree  than  ever  the  per- 
fections of  the  God-man,  and  the  greatness  of  his  most 
holy  Mother.  Then  his  soul  enters  into  an  ineffable 
rapture,  and,  before  having  abandoned  earth,  already 
dwells  in  heaven. 

The  consideration  of  the  present,  like  the  memory 
of  the  past,  brings,  then,  the  greatest  joy  to  Joseph  on 
his  death-bed.  It  is  so,  likewise,  with  his  anticipation 
of  the  future. 

He  looks  upon  the  eternity  on  which  he  is  about  to 
enter,  and  experiences  in  his  heart  sentiments  of  the 
firmest  confidence,  because  his  conscience  bears  testi- 
mony to  him  that  his  long  life  was  only  a series  of 
good  works,  performed  from  the  purest  motives,  and 
in  the  greatest  perfection. 

Yet  he  knows  that-  being  man  he  must  undergo  the 
judgment  that  fixes  the  eternal  lot  of  all ; but  he  knows 


296 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


also  that  he  who  will  pronounce  it  is  Jesus,  his  dear 
Jesus,  he  for  whom  he  has  devoted  himself  without 
reserve — Jesus,  his  God  who,  at  that  very  moment, 
reveals  to  him  that  he  is  on  the  point  of  recompensing 
him  as  God  for  the  numberless  cares  lavished  on  him. 
He  hears  him  in  advance  repeat  these  words  of  supreme 
felicity : “ Come,  O blessed  of  my  Father,  you  who 
have  been  his  representative  in  my  regard,  you  whom 
I have  so  often  called  my  father ; yes,  come,  O my 
father,  to  possess  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  ; come 
to  reign  with  me  in  the  mansions  of  eternal  glory.” 

St.  Joseph  knows  very  well  that  his  soul  will  go  into 
limbo,  but  he  knows  also  that  it  is  for  the  purpose  of 
announcing  to  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  that  the 
time  is  fulfilled ; that  the  Son  of  promise,  the  Flower 
of  Jesse,  the  Desired  of  nations,  has  come  to  his  own 
temple;  that  heaven  is  about  to  be  opened,  and 
the  glory  they  have  hoped  for  is  to  be  made  their 
inheritance. 

No,  no,  there  is  no  subject  of  pain  to  him  in  the  view 
of  the  future ! Joseph,  when  dying,  sees  dimly  the 
heaven  into  which  he  wTiil  soon  enter  with  his  adorable 
foster-child,  and  he  sees  in  that  abode  of  the  magnifi- 
cence of  God  the  throne  prepared  for  himself.  He 
enjoys  in  the  greatness  of  his  confidence  something  of 
the  unlimited  happiness  he  will  enjoy  near  Mary,  his 
queenly  spouse,  and  in  presence  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose 
humanity  will  then  shine  with  all  the  splendor  of  the 
divinity. 

It  is  in  these  dispositions  that  his  soul  passes  from 
time  to  eternity,  to  possess  there  all  the  ineffable  hap- 
piness that  had  here  been  the  object  of  his  hope. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


297 


APPLICATION. 

Let  the  contemplation  of  Joseph  dying  reanimate 
our  confidence  and  excite  our  courage. 

Our  life,  as  religious  teachers,  is  in  many  respects 
like  his.  We  can,  then,  hope  that  the  end  of  it  will  be 
similar,  and  that,  after  having  devoted  ourselves  with 
complete  self-denial  to  the  work  entrusted  to  us,  the 
God  whom  we  serve  will  recompense  us,  as  he  has 
already  done  to  so  many  of  our  Brothers,  by  a holy 
death. 

Soon  w^e  shall  come  to  our  last  hour.  Yes,  soon  our 
career  here  below  will  be  ended,  to  have  nothing  before 
us  but  the  ocean  of  eternity.  What  sentiments  wTill 
this  aw^aken  in  our  souls  ? 

Will  it  be  a sweet  confidence,  a slight  anticipation 
of  the  happiness  of  heaven  we  shall  have  merited,  or  a 
too  just  fear  of  being  found  worthy  of  condemnation  ? 
Shall  we,  at  our  last  hour,  be  assisted  by  the  most  holy 
Virgin,  or  shall  we  have  reason  to  apprehend  that  she 
will  refuse  her  succor  ? Will  Jesus  Christ  be  our  con- 
solation and  strength,  or  will  he  leave  us  a prey  to  all 
the  terrors  of  death  ? 

Let  us  remember  that  this  depends  on  our  corres- 
pondence with  grace ; that  if  we  imitate  St.  Joseph, 
our  soul  will  be  like  to  his,  and  our  death  resemble  his ; 
that  Jesus  and  Mary  will  assist  us  in  our  last  struggle 
with  hell ; and  when  the  Angel  of  the  Apocalypse  shall 
say,  regarding  us,  Time  shall  he  no  more  * our  guardian 
angel  will  answer,  “ But  for  this  soul  there  shall  be  a 
happy  eternity.’ 

® Apoc.  x.  6. 


298 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PEAYEE. 

O glorious  St.  Joseph,  whom  I contemplate  dying 
between  Jesus  and  Mary,  obtain  for  me,  as  well  as  for 
all  those  who  are  dear  to  me,  the  grace  of  leading  a 
life  like  to  yours,  so  that  we  may  die,  like  you,  the  death 
of  the  just,  and  assisted  in  our  last  struggle  by  our 
divine  Saviour  and  his  most  holy  Mother. 

b£sum£. 

Let  us  contemplate  St.  Joseph  in  his  last  moments. . . . 
The  past  is  to  him  a subject  of  consolation,  for  all  his  life 
is  filled  with  good  works 

The  present  offers  him  likewise  the  most  pleasing  enjoy- 
ments. Does  he  not  see  at  his  side  J esus  and  Mary  bestow- 
ing their  cares  upon  him  with  the  greatest  affection? 

It  is  then,  above  all,  that  the  fire  of  charity  burns  in  his 
heart,  and  that  his  sole  desire  is  to  plunge  himself  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Divinity  he  contemplates ! 

The  future  has  nothing  that  can  cause  him  the  least 
trouble.  His  works  will  follow  him  into  eternity.  Now 
what  are  they  but  holy  works  ? . . . . 

His  judge  is  Jesus,  his  own  adopted  son.  His  soul  must 
go  into  limbo,  but  it  is  to  announce  to  the  just  their  ap- 
proaching deliverance .... 

Joseph,  when  dying,  enjoys  in  anticipation  the  happi- 
ness that  is  to  be  accorded  to  him  in  its  fulness 

Oh  how  happy  are  those  who  die  in  the  same  disposi- 
tions as  Joseph! . . . . 

Fruits. — Frequently  to  recommend  our  last  hour  to  St.  Joseph  ; to 
pray  to  him  for  those  in  agony  ; to  encourage  ourselves  to  live  well  by 
the  thought  of  the  happiness  a holy  death  procures. 


FORTY-SEVENTII  MEDITATION. 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“Into  thy  hands  I commend  my  spirit.’7 — Ps.  xxx.  6. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  his 
saints*  says  the  Royal  Prophet.  Now,  there  is  no  one 
of  whom  those  words  could  be  said  with  more  reason 
than  of  Joseph,  who  was  raised  to  so  high  a degree  of 
sanctity  and  justice.  Yes,  his  death  was  precious  in  the 
sight  of  God,  because  it  was  the  recompense  of  his  vir- 
tues, and  because  it  was  of  itself  eminently  meritorious. 

Let  us  consider,  then,  the  principal  characteristics  of 
that  death,  and  understand  by  the  lessons  it  gives  us 
how  great  is  the  liberality  of  God  towards  his  faithful 
servants. 

The  death  of  Joseph  was  holy.  Ah ! how,  in  truth, 
could  a life  sanctified  by  the  constant  practice  of  the 
most  heroic  virtues  be  other  than  crowned  by  a most 
holy  death?  How  could  the  just  and  devoted  man 
who,  for  the  love  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  had  spent  himself 
in  toil,  fail  to  enjoy  in  his  last  hour  the  repose  which 
God  grants  to  his  true  servants  ? Could  it  be  that  he 
would  not  be  received  favorably  by  the  Eternal  Father, 
he  who  had  so  worthily  filled  his  place  near  Jesus  and 
Mary  ? Could  it  be  that  he  should  not  die  holity,  he 
* Ps.  cxv.  15. 


300 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


whose  whole  life  was  one  unbroken  series  of  holy 
actions  ? Oh  no  ; it  was  but  just  that  God  should  say 
to  him  : “ Come,  good  and  faithful  guardian  of  my  Son; 
the  hour  is  come  to  reward  you  for  your  devotedness  : 
enter  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord.” 

The  death  of  St.  Joseph  is  then  precious  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord,  because  it  was  the  recompense  of  his  holy 
life  ; but  it  is  no  less  so  through  its  character  of  union 
with  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  through  the  prac- 
tice of  the  virtues  of  which  it  was  the  occasion. 

Joseph  knew  that  the  Lamb  of  the  new  Covenant 
was  to  die  for  the  salvation  of  the  world,  and  that  the 
greatest  act  of  perfection  men  can  produce  here  below 
is  to  unite  himself  to  the  death  of  Jesus.  Therefore, 
he  caused  that  act  of  union,  and  thus  in  advance 
applied  to  himself  the  merits  of  that  blood  that  was 
soon  to  flow  on  Calvary. 

But  by  how  many  acts  of  virtue  was  the  death  of 
Joseph  accompanied  ? Ah ! could  we  know  the  dis- 
positions of  his  holy  soul  at  the  moment  when  it  was 
leaving  this  place  of  exile,  how . much  submission, 
charity,  and  detachment  from  creatures  should  we  dis- 
cover there ! 

Joseph  accepts  death  with  perfect  resignation.  Dur- 
ing his  whole  life  he  had  said  by  his  actions  : “ Behold 
me,  O my  God,  ready  to  do  thy  holy  will.”  He  could 
not  but  repeat  it  at  his  last  hour. 

Joseph  dies  absolutely  disengaged  from  all  earthly 
affection,  and  while  producing  the  most  perfect  act  of 
charity  he  had  yet  produced.  His  love  for  God  was  a 
fire  burning  bright  from  day  to  day,  and  which  at  that 
moment  burned  with  its  greatest  splendor. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


301 


The  death  of  Joseph  was,  then,  eminently  merito- 
rious; but  let  us  consider,  moreover,  how  it  was  to 
him  full  of  confidence  and  consolation.  How  could  it 
have  been  otherwise?  Did  not  his  conscience  bear 
him  testimony,  that  he  had  always  responded  to  the 
will  of  God ; that  he  had  desired  nothing  so  much  as 
to  be  pleasing  to  him ; that  he  had  made  it  his  whole 
study  to  act  conformably  to  his  holy  law,  and  perse- 
vere in  justice?  He  had  reason,  then,  to  expect  that 
in  appearing  before  God,  who  had  become  his  adopted 
Son,  he  was  rather  going  to  assist  at  a triumph  than 
undergo  a judgment. 

Moreover,  did  he  not  see  beside  him  that  Saviour 
full  of  love,  who,  with  the  most  holy  Virgin,  brought 
him  the  sweetest  consolations  ? Did  he  not  hear  him 
speak  to  him  of  the  everlasting  happiness  that  was 
to  be  his  inheritance  ? Let  us  represent  to  ourselves 
Jesus  addressing  him  in  sentiments  of  the  most  lively 
tenderness  : “ O you  whom  my  heavenly  Father  caused 
to  protect  and  support  me  in  my  youth — you  who 
loved  me  more  than  yourself,  and  labored  so  much  for 
me  and  my  most  holy  Mother — open  your  heart  to 
sentiments  of  the  greatest  joy,  for  in  reward  for  your 
virtues,  I come  as  man  to  give  you  the  kiss  of  peace, 
and  as  God  to  bless  you  with  a blessing  whose  sweet- 
ness shall  last  through  all  eternity.  Go,  O loving 
father,  go  to  announce  to  the  just  who  have  gone 
before  you  that  I shall  soon  come  to  deliver  them, 
and  introduce  them,  with  you,  into  the  garden  of  end- 
less delights.” 

The  death  of  St.  Joseph  is  also  full  of  consolations 
on  the  part  of  Mary,  He  sees  his  most  holy  spouse 


302 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


keeping  close  to  his  side,  lavishing  her  care  upon  him, 
and  returning  him  thanks  for  all  he  has  done  for  her. 
He  hears  her  thank  him,  and  with  that  voice  which  he 
knows  well  is  always  heard,  say  to  him  : “ Receive,  O 
loving  spouse,  the  tribute  of  my  gratitude  for  the 
sufferings  without  number  to  which  you  have  been 
subjected  on  my  account ! May  the  God  of  heaven, 
who  has  loved  men  so  much  as  to  give  them  his  only 
Son,  through  his  humble  handmaid,  recompense  your 
heroic  virtues !” 

The  death  of  Joseph  is  also  full  of  consolation  to 
him  through  the  thought  of  the  great  things  that  were 
soon  to  be  accomplished.  That  holy  patriarch  sees, 
by  faith  the  kingdom  of  God  establishing  itself 
throughout  the  wrorld,  the  devil  vanquished  and 
enchained,  heaven  opening  for  men,  and  the  just 
admitted  to  supreme  felicity.  Then,  with  a feeling  of 
happiness,  he  perceives  that  his  last  moment  has 
come. 

If  the  aged  Simeon,  after  having  for  a moment 
pressed  to  his  heart  the  Infant-God,  cried  out  in  his 
transport : Now  tliou  dost  dismiss  thy  servant , 0 Lord , 
according  to  thy  word , in  ymce:  because  my  eyes  have 
seen  thy  salvation. . . .a  light  to  the  revelation  of 0 the  Gen- 
tiles, and  the  glory  of  tliy  'people  of  Israel*  what  must- 
have  been  the  sentiments  of  St.  Joseph,  who,  during 
thirty  years,  had  enjoyed  far  greater  advantages? 

And  now  let  us  see  in  imagination  the  angels  of 
heaven  assisting  at  the  last  moments  of  the  holiest  of 
men,  waiting  until  the  moment  fixed  by  Providence 
should  have  arrived ; let  us  contemplate  them  receiving 


St.  Luke  ii.  29. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


303 


liis  holy  soul  from  the  arms  of  Jesus  himself,  to  conduct 
it  in  triumph  into  the  assembly  of  the  just  of  the  old 
law. 

Let  us  see  Jesus  and  Mary  paying  the  last  duties  to 
the  virginal  body  of  him  who  has  just  left  them,  rever- 
ing those  sacred  relics  that  were  never  to  see  corrup- 
tion, but  which  were  destined  to  be  restored  to  life  on 
the  day  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Saviour,  and  to  be- 
come the  ornament  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem. 

APPLICATION. 

If  we  wish  to  die  as  St.  Joseph  died,  let  us  live  as  he 
lived ; if  we  wish  to  be  assisted  and  consoled  in  our 
last  hour  by  Jesus  and  Mary,  let  us,  like  him,  live  only 
for  Jesus  and  Mary.  Let  us  remain  in  their  holy  com- 
pany, walk  in  their  presence,  serve  them  with  fidelity 
and  courage,  and  then  we  may  be  assured  that  our 
death  will  be  precious  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  full  of 
confidence  for  us. 

Let  this  meditation  on  the  death  of  St.  Joseph  be  for 
us  a motive  for  exciting  our  confidence  in  God.  As 
religious  teachers,  we  are  laboring  at  the  work  for 
which  Joseph  devoted  himself.  We  dedicate  our  lives 
to  making  Jesus  and  Mary  five  in  our  hearts  and  in 
those  of  our  pupils.  Have  we  not  every  reason  to  hope 
for  the  grace  of  a happy  death  ? 

Oh  let  us  not  doubt.  It  is  by  a holy  death  that  the 
worthy  children  of  the  Venerable  de  la  Salle  crown  their 
life  of  self-sacrifice,  and  that  grace  is  obtained  for  them 
by  their  glorious  patron;  for  St.  Joseph  loves  those 
who,  like  him,  have  no  thought,  will,  or  strength  but 


304 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


for  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  he  obtains  for  them  the 
grace  of  closing  their  earthly  career  of  Jesus  and 
Mary. 


PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  O holy  patron  of  a good  death,  I take 
refuge  at  the  foot  of  your  altar,  to  implore  you  to  suc- 
cor me  at  the  moment  when  the  sovereign  Judge  will 
call  me  to  appear  in  his  presence.  When  my  eyes 
shall  be  ready  to  close  to  the  light  of  this  world,  when 
my  tongue  shall  be  able  only  with  difficulty  to  repeat 
the  names  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  come  then  to  me — come 
to  present  my  soul  to  God,  who  wished  to  be  to  you  as 
a son,  and  obtain  that  the  sentence  he  shall  pronounce 
over  me  may  make  me  a partaker  of  the  glory  you 
enjoy  in  heaven. 

r£sum£. 

Let  us  consider  how  the  death  of  St.  Joseph  is  to  God 
precious,  meritorious,  sweet,  and  glorious 

The  death  of  Joseph  is  precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
because  it  is  the  fruit  of  his  holy  life,  the  recompense  of 
his  works,  which  were  all  according  to  justice. . . . 

The  death  of  Joseph  is  meritorious  to  him:  1st,  because 
he  accepts  it  in  union  with  Jesus  dying,  and  thus  applies 
to  himself  in  advance  the  merits  of  the  Victim  of  Calvary; 
....  2d,  because  he  submits  to  it  with  perfect  resignation, 
and  in  sentiments  of  the  most  perfect  charity 

But  what  consolations  Joseph  finds  in  the  presence  of 
Jesus ....  in  that  of  Mary ! . . . . 

Let  us  hasten  to  Jesus  and  Mary,  blessing  him  at  the 
moment  he  is  about  to  quit  them .... 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


305 


In  fine,  let  us  consider  the  angels  assisting  at  the  death 

of  this  just  man, and  receiving  his  holy  soul  from  the 

hands  of  Jesus 

Let  us  contemplate  Jesus  and  Mary  venerating  his  vir- 
ginal body,  to  which  they  pay  the  last  duties 

Fruits. — To  keep  ourselves  in  the  hope  of  dying  a holy  death,  if  we 
discharge  well  the  duties  of  our  state  ; frequently  to  invoke  St.  Joseph 
as  the  patron  of  a happy  death 


FORTY-EIGHTH  MEDITATION. 


RESURRECTION  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ I know  that  my  Redeemer  livetli,  and. . . .1  shall  rise  out  of  the  earth, 
and  I shall  be  clothed  again  with  my  skin,  an  in  my  flesh  I shall 
see  my  God.” — Job  xix.  25. 


CONSIDERATION. 

“ If  tlie  Saviour-God,”  says  St.  Bernardine  of  Sienna, 
“ wished,  in  order  to  satisfy  his  filial  piety,  to  glorify 
the  body  as  well  as  the  soul  of  Mary  on  the  day  of  her 
Assumption,  we  can  and  ought  piously  to  believe  that 
he  did  no  less  for  Joseph,  so  distinguished  among  all 
the  saints ; that  he  raised  his  body  again  on  the  day 
after  his  own  resurrection,  when  he  called  so  many 
others  from  the  dust  of  the  tomb,  and  that  thus  the 
Holy  Family,  which  had  been  united  on  earth  by  a 
community  of  sufferings,  and  the  bonds  of  the  same 
love,  reigns  now  in  body  and  soul  in  the  glory  of 
heaven.” 

St.  Francis  of  Sales  is  of  the  same  opinion  as  St. 
Bernardine  of  Sienna.  “ It  seems  to  me/’  says  he, 
“ that  no  one  can  doubt  the  fact  that  God  raised 
Joseph’s  body  and  soul  into  heaven.” 

Many  celebrated  doctors,  and  among  others  Suarez, 
hold  the  same  language  on  this  subject,  and  think  that 
God  granted  Joseph  not  only  the  privilege  of  leaving 
limbo  and  entering  heaven  on  the  day  of  his  glorious 
ascension,  as  he  did  to  the  other  just,  but  that  also  of 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


307 


rising  from  tlie  grave  and  ascending  in  body  and  soul 
with  him  to  heaven. 

We  may  even  believe,  with  a great  number  of  the 
servants  of  that  great  saint,  that  his  body  never  expe- 
rienced the  corruption  of  the  tomb,  but  that  it  was, 
after  death,  preserved  incorrupt  by  the  power  of  God 
until  the  time  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord,  when  it 
was  restored  to  life,  to  be  the  first  visible  ornament, 
after  the  divine  Humanity,  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem. 

Let  us  believe,  then,  with  all  true  devotees  of  St. 
Joseph,  in  this  prerogative  so  glorious  to  him,  and 
let  us  consider  the  reasons  for  which  it  has  been  grant- 
ed to  him. 

Jesus  Christ  preserved  Joseph  from  the  corruption 
of  the  tomb,  and  afterwards  raised  him  to  life  through 
an  effect  of  his  filial  love.  Let  us  remember  that  he 
loved  him  more  than  any  son  ever  loved  his  father ; he 
must,  then,  when  death  was  about  to  separate  Joseph 
from  him  as  man,  have  experienced  the  desire  that  the 
sacred  body  which  had  been  his  living  altar  should 
escape  from  the  corruption  of  the  grave.  Now,  who 
could  hinder  him  from  realizing  this  desire,  similar  to 
what  he  afterwards  formed  regarding  the  most  holy 
Virgin  ? 

Joseph,  when  dying,  could  say,  “Lord,  into  thy  hands 
I commend  my  soul  and  my  body;”  but  Jesus,  who, 
through  his  angels,  received  his  blessed  soul,  received 
himself  into  his  arms  the  body  of  his  good  father,  and 
in  paying  to  his  body  the  last  duties,  could  have  said  in 
advance : I am  the  resurrection  and  the  life ; he  that 
believtth  in  me , although  he  be  dead,  shall  live  /*  and  he 
* St.  John  xi.  25. 


308 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


must  have  wished  to  verify  it  in  the  person  of  him  who 
was  his  guardian  and  protector. 

Jesns  Christ  favored  St.  Joseph  with  the  preroga- 
tive on  which  we  meditate,  through  gratitude  for  his 
self-devotedness.  Joseph  had,  in  fact,  many  times 
saved  him  from  death.  It  seemed  but  just  that  he 
should  in  turn  save  him  from  the  horrors  of  the  tomb. 

Jesus  Christ  glorified  the  body  of  St.  Joseph  because 
of  its  union  with  his.  How  often  had  it  been  in  con- 
tact with  the  sacred  flesh  of  the  Word  of  God,  which  is 
essentially  vivifying ! How  many  times  had  the  hands 
of  Joseph  touched  the  divine  Child  ! How  many  times 
had  his  body  appeared  to  make  but  one  with  that  of 
Jesus!  How  could  our  adorable  Redeemer  have  al- 
lowed him  to  remain  in  the  tomb ! 

Jesus  Christ  accorded  this  prerogative  to  his  foster- 
father  to  recompense  him  for  his  holiness.  He  should 
on  the  day  of  his  resurrection  triumph  over  death  not 
only  in  his  own  adorable  person,  but  also  in  that  of 
his  saints.  Many  among  them  were  to  return  to  life 
at  the  same  time  as  he,  and  become  thus,  in  body  and 
soul,  the  companions  of  his  glory,  and  as  St.  Joseph 
was  of  all  the  just  the  one  most  pleasing  in  his  eyes, 
the  greatest  in  sanctity,  he  should  also  be  the  first 
among  those  saints  that  were  to  be  so  privileged. 

Jesus  Christ  wished  to  glorify  the  body  of  St.  Joseph, 
so  that  his  adopted  father  might  have  a greater  resem- 
blance to  Mary,  his  august  spouse.  He  wished  him  to 
participate  in  the  prerogative  with  which  she  was 
favored,  and  that  the  Holy  Family  should  be  in  body 
and  soul  in  heaven,  and  as  it  had  been  united  upon 
earth. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


309 


But  the  prinipal  motive  for  which  Jesus  wished  to 
glorify  the  body  of  Joseph  was  to  recompense  worthily 
him  who  had  been  the  purest  of  men. 

It  was  meet  that  the  just  man  who  had  carried  with 
so  much  glory  the  standard  of  chastity  should  be  pre- 
served from  the  corruption  of  the  tomb ; that  his  vir- 
ginal flesh  which  had  always  been  like  a resplendent 
lily  in  the  sight  of  God  should  be  transplanted  to 
heaven  without  being  decomposed  by  death.  Yes, 
when  Joseph  on  his  death-bed  said,  “ I know  that  in 
my  flesh  I shall  see  my  God,”  Jesus  gave  him  to  under- 
stand that  he  might  sleep  full  of  hope ; that  on  the  day 
of  his  resurrection  he  would  raise  him  from  the  tomb, 
and  that  in  his  pure  and  holy  flesh  he  would  see  him 
in  his  glory,  and  enjoy  his  adorable  presence. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  esteem  and  preserve  unblemished  our  chastity 
— a virtue  so  beautiful  and  so  pleasing  to  God,  which 
gives  to  the  flesh  of  man  something  divine,  which  even 
death  seems  to  respect. 

Let  us  sanctify  our  bodies  more  and  more  by  fervent 
communions,  remembering  that  the  adorable  flesh  of 
God  in  the  holy  Eucharist  leaves  in  ours  the  germs  of 
life  and  the  source  of  a glorious  resurrection. 

Let  us  extol  St.  Joseph,  honored  by  God  even  in  his 
body.  Let  us  exclaim  with  a pious  author  :*  “ Blessed 
is  the  body  of  Joseph,  the  living  throne  of  the  divine 
"Word  during  his  minority  on  earth,  the  moving  taber- 
nacle of  the  Divinity  dwelling  with  men,  the  living  altar 
of  the  Victim  of  salvation  ! Blessed  is  that  virginal 

* P6re  Jacquinot:  Glory  of  St.  Joseph. 


310 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


body,  destined  to  shine  in  the  foremost  rank  among  the 
stars  of  heaven.” 

Let  us  thank  God  who  has  rewarded  Joseph  with  so 
much  munificence,  and  let  us  learn  thereby  how  great 
is  his  liberality  to  those  who  consecrate  themselves  to 
his  glory.  Let  us  reflect  that  we  also  must  rise  again 
one  day ; but  let  us  never  forget  that  for  our  body  to 
be  like  that  of  Joseph  we  must  have  preserved  a chas- 
tity worthy  of  our  holy  state,  for  it  is  only  those  who 
have  pure  hearts  wdio  can  say  with  full  hope  these 
consoling  words  : I know  that  I shall  rise  again , and  that 
in  my  flesh  I shall  my  God . 

PEAYEE. 

O Jesus,  who  had  glorified  Joseph  not  only  in  his 
soul,  but  also  in  his  body,  we  thank  you  for  that  pre- 
rogative with  which  you  honor  our  holy  patron,  and  by 
which  you  recompense  his  inviolable  purity.  Deign  to 
grant  us,  through  his  protection,  the  grace  of  imitating 
him  by  perfect  chastity,  and  of  thus  meriting  to  be 
admitted  to  contemplate  you,  with  him,  in  the  mansion 
of  your  glory. 


R&SUM&. 

It  is  a pious  and  creditable  tradition  that  Jesus  Christ 
raised  St.  Joseph  from  the  grave  at  the  time  of  his  own 
resurrection ....  and  that  he  raised  him  in  body  as  well  as 
soul  to  heaven  on  the  day  of  his  glorious  ascension. 

Let  us  thank  him  for  having  thus  glorified  our  beloved 
protector 

Let  us  reflect  on  the  reasons  for  which  he  did  so 

Jesus  Christ  glorified  the  body  of  St.  Joseph  as  an  effect 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


311 


of  his  filial  love through  gratitude  because  of  the  union 

of  his  body  with  his  own,  which  is  essentially  the  source  of 
life.... 

Jesus  Christ  glorified  St.  Joseph  even  in  his  body,  to 

recompense  him  for  his  sanctity to  give  him  that  trait 

more  of  resemblance  to  Mary. . . .to  show  the  esteem  in 
which  he  held  the  purity  of  him  who  was  the  purest  of 
men .... 

Fruits. — To  communicate  often,  and  always  with  great  fervor,  so 
that  the  flesh  of  Jesus  Christ  may  be  to  us  an  effective  principle  of  a 
glorious  resurrection  ; to  preserve  chastity  inviolably  ; to  beg  the  grace 
of  it  by  the  intercession  of  St.  Joseph. 


FORTY-NINTH  MEDITATION. 


GLORY  OF  ST.  JOSEPH  IN  HEAVEN. 


“Crowned  with  glory  and  honor.”— Heb.  ii.  19. 


CONSIDERATION. 

Our  piety  to  St.  Joseph,  takes  delight  in  considering 
him  the  creature  most  exalted  in  glory  in  heaven,  next 
to  the  glorious  Mother  of  our  divine  Redeemer.  Oh 
how  sweet  it  is  to  consider  him  crowned  with  honor, 
placed  on  a throne  of  light,  shining  with  the  splendor 
of  God,  who  communicates  himself  to  him  without 
reserve ; blessed  by  the  legions  of  celestial  spirits,  and 
the  innumerable  multitude  of  the  elect ; distinguished 
in  the  highest  degree  among  the  saints  by  Him  whose 
happiness  it  is  to  glorify  his  servants  according  to 
their  virtues,  and  who  crowns  his  own  gifts  in  crown- 
ing then  merits ! 

Let  us  not  imagine  that  these  are  only  pious  suppo- 
sitions. No,  there  is  nothing  but  what  is  probable  in 
the  opinion  that  St.  Joseph  is,  after  Mary,  the  highest 
in  heaven.  It  is  the  opinion  of  several  doctors,  and 
particularly  of  Gerson,  Suarez,  and  of  M.  Ollier,  who 
teach  that  St.  Joseph  having  held  while  on  earth  the 
first  place  in  grace  and  charity,  holds  it  likewise  in 
heaven. 

Moreover,  to  be  convinced  of  this,  it  is  sufficient  to 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


313 


reflect  on  the  prerogatives  of  that  holy  patriarch,  on 
the  virtues  he  practiced,  and  on  the  words  of  holy 
Scripture  which  teach  us  what  it  is  that  makes  the 
greatness  of  the  saints  in  heaven. 

Joseph  was  distinguished  from  all  men  by  the  dig- 
nity of  his  mission,  which  the  seraphim  themselves 
would  have  considered  it  an  honor  to  fulfil.  God,  who 
confided  that  mission  to  him,  wished  also  to  distinguish 
him  from  the  other  saints  by  a greater  degree  of  glory. 

Let  us  remember  his  relations  with  the  adorable 
persons  of  the  most  Holy  Trinity,  and  considering,  as 
St.  Bernardino  of  Sienna  says,  that  the  prerogatives 
of  St.  Joseph  are  not  only  preserved  to  him  in  heaven, 
but  even  increased  and  made  perfect,  let  us  strive  to 
give  ourselves  an  idea  of  the  glory  he  enjoys. 

God  the  Father  glorifies  him  as  his  representative 
near  his  adorable  Son,  and  is  pleased  to  clothe  with 
his  own  splendor  him  whom  he  had  invested  with  his 
authority  when  on  earth.  God  the  Son  glorifies  him  as 
the  just  man  who  best  reproduced  the  perfections  of 
his  heavenly  Father — as  one  who  was  most  devoted  to 
himself  whilst  upon  earth ; and  after  having  made  it  his 
happiness  to  honor  him  here  below,  our  divine  Saviour, 
always  so  full  of  love  and  gratitude,  makes  it  his  de- 
light to  continue  that  homage  in  heaven.  God  the 
Holy  Ghost  glorifies  him  as  his  representative  near 
the  most  Holy  Virgin,  and  as  the  purest  and  most 
holy  man  that  has  ever  been. 

Does  not  the  most  Holy  Virgin  Mary,  who  here  be- 
low honored  him  as  her  spouse,  and  the  worthy  foster- 
father  of  Jesus,  delight  to  celebrate  his  greatness,  and 
to  thank  God,  who  recompenses  his  services  towards 


314 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


her,  and  still  more  towards  her  adorable  Son?  Do 
not  the  angels  count  it  a happiness  to  honor  Him 
whom  the  King  of  kings  has  so  honored,  and  whom 
they  see  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  their  Queen  ? Do 
not  all  the  saints  glorify  him  in  uniting  him  with  Mary 
in  the  same  homage  of  veneration  ? When  they  praise 
the  Virgin-Mother  of  God,  do  they  not  praise  her 
holy  spouse,  who  was  honored  with  the  name  of  father 
by  Jesus  ? 

Still,  among  the  saints  there  are  no  doubt  some  who 
honor  him  in  a more  particular  manner.  These  are 
such  as  have  been  assisted  by  his  protection,  for  whom 
he  asked  and  obtained  the  graces  of  perseverance  or 
conversion — who  recognize  him  as  the  first  author,  next 
to  God  and  Mary,  of  the  happiness  they  enjoy.  With 
what  joy  do  they  lay  their  crowns  before  his  throne ! 
With  what  transports  do  they  proclaim  his  greatness ! 
With  what  gratitude  do  they  thank  the  Most  High  for 
the  power  given  to  him  in  heaven,  and  to  which  they 
are  indebted  for  their  salvation. 

If  we  were  permitted  to  behold  the  multitude  of  the 
elect  who  with  so  much  joy  glorify  St.  Joseph,  how 
many  of  our  Brothers  should  we  distinguish  among 
them  ? 

How  many  of  them,  in  truth,  during  all  their  life, 
made  it  a happiness  to  honor,  invoke,  and  imitate  Him, 
and  have  obtained  through  his  intercession  the  grace 
of  a holy  death  ? 

The  consideration  of  the  prerogatives  of  St.  Joseph 
points  him  out  to  us  as  occupying  the  first  place  in 
heaven  after  Mary.  It  is  so  also  with  the  considera- 
tion of  his  virtues. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


315 


What  ought  to  be  the  recompense  of  him  who,  from 
the  purest  motives  of  faith  and  charity,  led  a life  of 
labor,  self-denial,  and  suffering  ; who  was  the  most  faith- 
ful and  devoted  of  the  servants  of  God,  whose  holiness, 
prudence,  and  goodness  he  has  most  sensibly  ex- 
pressed in  his  own  person ; who  was  the  purest,  the 
chastest  of  men,  and  whose  heart  burned  with  the  same 
fire  as  the  sacred  hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary  ? How 
can  we  imagine  with  what  glory  God  rewards  that  just 
man,  when  we  reflect  that  he  became  more  and  more 
perfect  up  till  the  close  of  his  long  career  on  which  he 
had  entered,  gifted  with  such  eminent  sanctity  ? Our 
merits  are  in  accordance  with  the  degree  of  our  union 
with  Jesus  Christ ; but  wTho  was  more  closely  and  con- 
stantly united  than  J oseph  to  that  adorable  Mediator  ? 
Who  therefore  has  acquired  more  merits  for  heaven  ? 

Besides,  let  us  recall  here  some  words  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  reference  to  the  glory  of  the  elect,  and  see  if 
they  do  not  confirm  the  subject  on  which  we  are 
meditating. 

The  Gospel  says : He  that  receivetli  a prophet  in  the 
name  of  a prophet , shall  receive  the  reward  of  a prophet  .* 

What  ought  we  to  think  in  reference  to  St.  Joseph, 
who  received  the  Word  of  God  as  the  Word  of  God, 
but  that  he  must  enjoy  in  a singular  degree  the  very 
glory  of  God  ? 

Jesus  Christ  teaches  that  God  exalts  those  who 
humble  themselves  ; but  wiio  excelled  more  in  humility 
than  St.  Joseph?  who,  consequently,  has  more  right 
to  be  exalted  in  heaven  ? In  my  Father  s house  there 
are  many  mansions  f says  our  divine  Master  ; but  to 
* St.  Matt.  x.  41.  f St.  John  xiv.  2. 


316 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


whom  will  he  give  the  first  of  these  mansions,  but  to 
him  who  was  the  representative  of  his  Father  in  re- 
gard to  him — to  him  to  whom  he  himself  so  frequently 
gave  that  very  title  of  father,  and  who  offered  him  his 
own  house  as  an  asylum  ? 

In  fine,  let  us  consider  that  the  sentence  of  the  elect 
being  founded  upon  what  they  have  done  in  reference 
to  Jesus  Christ,  there  is  no  one  to  whom  the  words 
of  happiness  are  more  applicable  than  to  St.  Joseph  : 
Come , ye  blessed  of  my  Father , possess  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  loorld  ; for  I 
teas  hungry , and  you  gave  me  to  eat ; I ivas  thirsty , and 
you  gave  me  to  drink ; I ivas  a stranger , and  you  took 
me  in.* 

It  is,  then,  a well-established  truth  that  St.  Joseph 
is,  next  to  Mary,  the  most  glorious  among  the  saints. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  congratulate  St.  Joseph  on  the  glory  which 
is  his  inheritance,  but,  above  all,  on  his  fidelity  to  the 
graces  of  God,  by  which  he  merited  it.  Let  us  often 
recall  to  mind  that  singular  glory,  and  remember  that 
we  are  destined  to  share  it,  one  day,  with  him,  if,  like 
him,  we  correspond  to  the  designs  of  God. 

Let  the  subject  we  meditate  on,  and  which  is  so  con- 
soling to  us,  penetrate  us  thoroughly  with  these  great 
maxims  of  religion — that  God  is  liberal  to  his  faithful 
servants  ; that  he  gives  us  infinitely  more  than  w7e  give 
him ; that  those  alone  understand  their  true  interests 
who,  in  imitation  of  St.  Joseph,  make  it  their  whole 
study  to  advance  in  the  path  of  virtue. 

* St.  Matt.  xxv.  34,  35. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


317 


Let  us  beg  our  holy  patron  to  help  us  to  understand 
these  principles,  so  fruitful  in  practical  consequences, 
and  to  make  us  act  conformably  to  them  in  our 
conduct. 


PRAYER. 

O holy  Joseph,  who,  by  your  virtues,  have  merited 
to  be  raised  in  glory  to  the  highest  degree  next  to  the 
most  holy  Virgin,  obtain  for  us  from  God’s  infinite 
mercy,  that  we  may  be  your  faithful  imitators,  and  cor- 
respond faithfully  to  the  designs  of  God  upon  us,  so  as 
to  be  admitted  to  share  your  happiness,  and  to  thank 
you  forever  for  your  merciful  protection. 

BfiSUM.fi. 

St.  Joseph  is,  next  to  Mary,  in  the  highest  degree  o*f 
glory.  To  feel  assured  of  this,  it  is  sufficient  to  reflect  on 
his  virtues  and  prerogatives. 

St.  Joseph  was  the  spouse  of  Mary  and  the  foster-father 
of  Jesus.  In  heaven  he  is  glorified  by  God  the  Father,  to 

whom  he  has  been  the  most  faithful  of  servants; by 

God  the  Son,  who  had  already  so  honored  him  on  earth ; 

by  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  whose  representative  he  was 

near  the  most  holy  Virgin 

Joseph  is  honored  by  Mary. 

He  is,  with  still  more  reason,  honored  by  the  angels  and 
saints. . . .He  is  honored,  above  all,  by  such  among  those 
]ast  who  owe  their  final  perseverance  to  his  intercession .... 

Joseph,  so  glorified  because  of  his  prerogatives,  is  equally 
so  because  of  his  virtues. 

God  gives  more  glory  to  his  elect  in  proportion  as  by 


318 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


the  perfection  of  their  lives  they  have  acquired  more 
merits.  Joseph  led,  in  union  with  Jesus  and  Mary,  the 
most  perfect  and  most  meritorious  life.  Therefore,  he  is 
among  the  saints  the  one  that  is  most  glorified. 

Fruits — To  bless  God  for  the  glory  with  which  he  recompenses  our 
holy  patron  ; to  esteem  only  what  can  make  us  partakers  of  it ; to 
ask,  through  the  intercession  of  St.  Joseph,  a great  fidelity  to  grace,  so 
as  to  acquire  abundant  merits  for  heaven. 


FIFTIETH  MEDITATION. 


POWEE  OP  ST.  JOSEPH  IN  HEAVEN. 


“ That  the  nations  might  know  his  power.’’ — Eccles.  xlvi.  8. 


CONSIDEKATION. 

To  give  us  an  idea  of  the  power  which  St.  Joseph 
enjoys  in  heaven,  it  is  sufficient  to  consider  the  inti- 
mate relations  of  that  glorious  patriarch  with  God  the 
Father,  with  Jesus  Christ,  with  the  most  holy  Virgin. 

Joseph,  when  on  earth,  was  that  faithful  and  prudent 
servant  to  whom  God  the  Father  entrusted  the  care  of 
his  family,  whom  he  clothed  with  his  own  authority,  to 
whom  he  made  Jesus  and  Mary  subordinate,  and  whom 
he  placed  over  his  house — that  is  to  say,  over  the  whole 
Church.  What,  then,  must  be  the  power  that  he  has 
at  his  disposal  in  heaven,  since  not  only  does  he  lose 
nothing  by  entering  there,  but  the  advantages  which 
he  enjoyed  here  below  are,  on  the  contrary,  wonder- 
fully increased  and  perfected  ? 

No,  we  cannot  doubt  that  God  communicates  to  St. 
Joseph  an  unlimited  power ; that  he  says  to  him  in  the 
truest  sense  these  words  of  Pharas  to  the  son  of  Jacob  : 
Thou  shall  he  over  my  house , and  at  the  commandment  of 
thy  mouth  all  the  people  shall  obey ; only  in  the  kingly 
throne  ivill  I he  above  thee*  Neither  can  there  be  any 
doubt  that  he  sends  us  to  that  all-powerful  minister  of 
* Genesis  xli.  40. 


320 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


his  goodness,  saying  to  us : Go  to  Joseph ; and  do  all 
that  he  shall  say  to  you* 

The  relations  of  St.  Joseph  with  God  the  Son 
prove  equally  that  he  has  at  his  disposal  all  power  by 
intercession  in  heaven.  Yes,  we  may  be  certain,  as 
St.  Bernardine  of  Sienna  teaches,  that  Jesus  Christ, 
who,  during  his  mortal  life,  rendered  to  Joseph  the 
respect  and  obedience  of  a son  to  his  father,  pays  him 
still  the  same  in  heaven,  where  he  has  preserved  to 
him  his  sublime  prerogatives. 

Let  us  remember  the  degree  of  dependence  in  which 
that  divine  Saviour  wished  to  place  himself  in  refer- 
ence to  him.  Let  us  remember  that  it  was  Joseph 
procured  for  him,  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  the  bread 
with  which  he  was  fed  ; that  he  was  his  guide  and  his 
support,  and  constantly  lavished  on  him  the  cares  of 
a most  loving  and  generous  father.  Let  us  consider,  in 
fine,  that  the  divine  heart  of  J esus  could  not  lose  its 
sentiments  of  gratitude  and  love ; and  let  us  under- 
stand that  that  adorable  Saviour  gives  in  heaven  an 
unlimited  power  to  him  who,  while  on  earth,  sacrificed 
himself  for  him  without  reserve ; that  St.  Joseph  has 
the  right  of  presenting  himself  before  the  throne  of  the 
Lamb  with  the  certainty  of  being  always  heard. 

The  relations  of  St.  Joseph  with  the  most  holy 
Virgin  prove  also  the  great  powder  he  enjoys  in  heaven. 
Mary,  called  by  the  fathers  an  all-powerful  intercessor, 
can  do  all  things  by  her  intercession  with  her  divine 
Son.  But  how  could  that  sweet  sovereign,  who  never 
rejects  those  who  pray  to  her,  even  when  they  are  sin- 
ners, refuse  anything  asked  her  by  Joseph,  her  holy 
* Genesis  xli.  55. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


321 


spouse,  who  was  always  so  good  to  her  ? What  could 
she  refuse  to  him  who  refused  nothing  to  her — to  him, 
above  all,  who,  for  her  adorable  Son,  resigned  himself 
to  so  many  privations,  labors,  and  sacrifices  ? It  is, 
therefore,  with  pleasure  she  grants  the  petitions  he 
presents  to  her,  or  unites  with  him  in  those  he  presents 
to  Jesus. 

Moreover,  the  Holy  Family  exists  still  in  heaven ; 
St.  Joseph  is  its  head.  There  can,  therefore,  be  no 
limit  to  his  power. 

The  power  of  St.  Joseph  is  thus  proved  by  the  con- 
sideration of  his  relations  with  God  the  Father,  with 
Jesus  Christ,  and  with  the  most  holy  Yirgin.  It  is  also 
established  by  the  agreement  of  the  doctors  of  the 
Church,  and  the  instructions  of  the  Church. 

“ St.  Joseph,”  says  the  seraphic  Theresa,  “ has 
always  heard  me  beyond  my  prayers  and  hopes.  I do 
not  remember  to  have  ever  asked  him  anything  that 
he  did  not  grant  me.  Other  saints  assist  us  in  special 
necessities.  The  power  of  Joseph  extends  to  every- 
thing ....  I have  always  seen  that  those  who  have  a 
true  devotion  to  him,  sustained  by  good  works,  make 
great  progress  in  virtue ; for  that  heavenly  protector 
favors  in  an  extraordinary  way  the  spiritual  advance- 
ment of  those  who  recommend  themselves  to  him.” 

“ There  are  saints  who  have  the  power  of  protection 
in  certain  circumstances,”  say  St.  Bernard  and  St. 
Liguori ; “but  to  St.  Joseph  it  has  been  given  to  suc- 
cor in  all  kinds  of  necessity,  and  to  defend  all  those 
who  have  recourse  to  him,  with  piety.” 

“ How  happy  we  should  be,”  says  St.  Francis  of 
Sales,  “ did  we  merit  to  have  a share  in  the  interces- 


322 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


sions  of  St.  Joseph  ; for  nothing  will  be  refused  to  him 
either  by  Our  Lady  or  her  glorious  Son.” 

“ It  has  pleased  God,”  says  the  blessed  Leonard  of 
Port  Maurice  on  this  subject,  “that  people  of  every 
state  should  have  a special  confidence  in  the  protec- 
tion of  St.  Joseph  ; for  in  the  house  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
other  saints  ask  for  favors ; but  Joseph  arranges  and 
obtains  all  he  wants.  As  spouse  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
and  as  foster-father  of  the  God-Man,  he  is,  by  interces- 
sion, omnipotent  in  heaven.” 

The  Church  confirms  what  the  saints  teach  of  the 
power  of  St.  Joseph,  for  she  says  in  the  response  in  his 
honor  : “ Joseph,  just,  faithful,  and  blameless,  obtains 
all  that  he  asks.” 

Lastly,  experience  in  this  respect  holds  the  same 
language.  Whoever  had  recourse,  with  faith,  to  the 
protection  of  St.  Joseph  without  experiencing  the 
effects  of  it  ? What  have  we  asked  with  fervor  of  our 
glorious  patron  that  we  have  not  obtained?  Ah  ! if  we 
knew  what  he  has  done  for  us,  for  our  families,  for  our 
congregation,  how  persuaded  we  should  be  that  Chris- 
tians can  do  nothing  more  advantageous  than  address 
themselves  to  him  in  all  confidence ! 

APPLICATION. 

It  is  to  us,  above  all,  who  are  religious  teachers,  that 
the  counsel  has  been  given  to  have  recourse  to  Joseph 
in  entire  confidence.  What  advantage  would  it  not 
bring  us,  whether  considered  personally  or  in  reference 
to  the  work  at  which  we  labor  ? Let  us  be  assured 
that  we  have  in  him  an  all-powerful  friend  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  an  advocate  who  has  all  power  over 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


323 


tho  heart  of  our  Judge,  a benefactor  always  disposed 
to  assist  us  in  our  wants. 

Let  us  pray  to  him  with  fervor  for  the  holy  Church, 
of  which  the  humble  abode  of  Nazareth  was  the  first 
cradle.  Let  us  pray  to  him  for  our  congregation,  so 
fortunate  in  being  placed  under  his  protection. 

Let  us  pray  to  him  for  our  relations,  who,  in  the 
midst  of  the  cares  of  this  world,  have  so  great  need  for 
the  special  assistance  of  Heaven.  Let  us  beg  him  to 
be  their  guide  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  their 
state,  to  make  piety  and  concord  reign  among  them,  to 
obtain  for  them  the  grace  of  leading  a holy  fife,  and  of 
dying,  like  him,  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  and  Mary. 

Let  us  pray  to  him  for  our  pupils,  who  run  such 
great  dangers  in  regard  to  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 

Let  us  pray  to  him  for  ourselves,  that  he  may  pro- 
tect us  against  the  devil,  the  world,  and  the  flesh  ; that 
he  may  make  us  triumph  over  the  temptations  to 
which  we  are  subjected,  and  persevere  in  the  most  spot- 
less chastity  and  most  edifying  piety. 

But  let  us  not  think  it  enough  to  implore  the  inter- 
cession of  St.  Joseph ; let  us  thank  God  for  having 
made  him  so  powerful  in  heaven,  and  so  charitable  to 
us ; let  us  thank  our  glorious  patron  for  the  goodness 
with  which  he  hears  our  prayers,  the  interest  he  bears 
us,  and  the  many  proofs  of  care  he  has  given  us  up  to 
this  day.  It  is  in  this  way  we  shall  show  ourselves  his 
worthy  clients,  and  secure  his  assistance  more  and 
more,  through  which  the  treasures  of  grace  will  be  laid 
open  to  us. 


324 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PRAYER. 

O Joseph,  who  dost  enjoy  so  great  power  of  inter- 
cession in  heaven,  deign,  we  beseech  thee,  to  make  use 
of  it  in  our  behalf.  Obtain  for  us  the  victory  over  the 
enemies  of  our  souls,  the  practice  of  the  virtues  of  our 
holy  state,  gratitude  for  the  gifts  of  God,  and  particu- 
larly for  those  which  we  owe  to  thy  protection.  Grant, 
O holy  patron,  that  we  may  be,  one  day,  admitted  to 
heaven,  there  to  thank,  with  you,  the  God  of  goodness 
who,  at  your  prayer,  shall  have  received  us  into  the 
bosom  of  his  infinite  mercy. 

BESUM&. 

St.  Joseph  enjoys  unlimited  power  in  heaven.... He 
could  not,  when  entering  there,  lose  his  prerogatives.  In 
some  sense,  then,  he  has  still  authority  over  Jesus  and 
Mary .... 

Our  divine  Saviour  always  honors  him  as  his  father,  his 
protector,  his  guardian,  and  grants  him  all  that  he 
wishes 

Mary,  whose  intercession  is  omnipotent,  always  sees 
in  him  her  holy  spouse.  She  can,  then,  refuse  him  noth- 
ing— 

A great  number  of  doctors  have  proclaimed  the  un- 
limited power  he  enjoys  with  God. . . . 

The  Church  says  that  he  obtains  all  that  he  asks 

How  many  reasons  have  we,  then — we,  above  all,  to 
whom,  he  is  so  favorable — for  having  recourse  to  him  with 
the  most  perfect  confidence. 

Fruits. — Often  to  invoke  St.  Joseph,  but,  above  all,  in  times  of  temp- 
tation ; to  tbank  God  for  having  given  him  so  great  power  of  interces- 
sion ; to  tbank  St.  Joseph  himself  for  having  been  pleased  to  make  use 
of  it,  both  in  behalf  of  our  congregation  and  of  our  ourselves  personally. 


FIFTY-FIRST  MEDITATION. 


FEAST  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“He hath  exalted  the  humble.” — St.  Luke  i.  52. 


CONSIDERATION. 

To  enter  this  day  into  the  spirit  of  the  Church  let  us 
celebrate  with  a calm  joy  the  greatness  of  St.  Joseph ; 
let  us  rekindle  our  fervor  and  excite  ourselves  to  the 
firmest  confidence  in  the  protection  of  the  glorious 
patron  of  our  Society. 

Let  us  reflect,  in  union  with  Mary,  that  the  Lord 
hath  exalted  in  the  person  of  St.  Joseph  the  most  hum- 
ble and  most  faithful  of  his  servants.  Let  us  recall  to 
mind  how  he  distinguished  him  among  all  men. 

If  it  is  a great  thing  to  have  authority  over  the 
mighty  ones  of  this  world,  what  must  we  think  of  him 
who  has  been  placed  over  the  Lord  of  lords  and  the 
Queen  of  heaven?  If  it  is  an  honor  to  approach  the 
monarchs  of  earth,  what  must  be  the  dignity  of  Joseph, 
who  lived  for  thirty  years  in  the  greatest  intimacy  with 
the  King  of  kings  ? 

If  it  is  a dignity  to  exercise  noble  and  important 
duties,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  dignity  of  him  who  was 
the  representative  of  God  the  Father  towards  God  the 
Son,  and  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost  towards  the  most  holy 
Virgin,  and  who,  first  among  men,  took  into  his  arms 


326 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


and  presented  to  Heaven  the  Victim  of  onr  reconcilia- 
tion, the  Lamb  who  offered  himself  for  the  salvation  of 
the  world  ? 

Joseph  was  the  foster-father,  the  guide  and  protec- 
tor of  Him  of  whom  the  holiest  of  the  children  of  men 
said  : There  shall  come  one  mightier  than  7,  the  latchet  of 
whose  shoes  I am  not  worthy  to  loose*  The  angels,  those 
lofty  and  perfect  intelligences,  deem  it  a glory  to  be  the 
messengers  of  God  to  creatures.  What,  then,  must  be 
the  dignity  of  Joseph,  who  was  the  messenger  of  God 
to  his  adorable  Son ! Those  blessed  spirits  venerate 
the  most  holy  Mary,  saying  to  her  : “ Hail,  O Queen !” 
Joseph  can  say  to  her,  in  all  truth  : “ Thou  art  my 
spouse,  O Immaculate  Virgin!75 

Thus,  in  whatever  point  of  view  we  place  ourselves, 
it  is  evident  that  St.  Joseph  was  raised  to  a super- 
eminent  dignity ; that  the  Lord  exalted  him  in  an  ineffa- 
ble manner  by  choosing  him  as  the  spouse  of  Mary  and 
the  foster-father  of  Jesus.  Let  us  consider  him  now 
in  reference  to  the  virtues  he  practiced,  and  which,  no 
less  than  his  prerogatives,  hold  him  forth  to  the  ad- 
miration of  Christians. 

Joseph , says  the  Gospel,  was  a just  man.  + Now,  all 
authors  affirm  that  the  justice  here  referred  to  is  the 
assemblage  of  all  virtues,  carried  each  to  its  highest 
degree.  All  acknowledge  in  St.  Joseph  an  entire  faith, 
a firm  hope,  a most  ardent  charity,  the  most  profound 
humility,  and  most  sublime  obedience — all,  in  a word, 
represent  him  to  us  as  the  worthy  spouse  of  Mary — that 
is  to  say,  as  the  most  pious,  the  most  chaste,  the  most 
holy  of  the  children  of  men — the  one  who,  in  the 
o St.  Luke  iii.  16.  f St.  Matt.  i.  19. 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


327 


qualities  of  liis  soul,  most  resembles  the  most  holy 
"Virgin,  the  most  perfect  of  pure  creatures. 

Joseph,  so  great  through  the  prerogatives  with  which 
God  favored  him,  is  no  less  so  through  the  heroic  vir- 
tues he  practiced  ; but  he  is  so,  above  all,  through  the 
glory  with  which  God,  even  here  below,  rewards  his 
fidelity. 

Let  us  remark,  in  the  first  place,  the  character  of 
universality  which  devotion  to  St.  Joseph  is  assuming. 
What  is  more  calculated  to  make  us  admire  our  glorious 
patron  than  to  see  him  thus  honored  over  the  whole 
world  ? Nearly  up  to  our  times  he  has  been  forgotten, 
if  we  may  say  so,  by  even  the  most  virtuous  Christians, 
and  now  he  has  become  the  object  of  a veneration  that 
is  always  increasing.  Everywhere  altars  are  raised  in 
his  honor  ; everywhere  his  name  is  blessed  by  men  of 
all  conditions  ; everywhere  there  is  a great  willingness 
to  place  themselves  under  his  patronage. 

Yet,  this  glory  is  nothing  compared  to  what  he  enjoys 
in  heaven.  Let  us  contemplate  him  in  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, on  the  loftiest  throne  next  to  that  of  Mary, 
shining  with  the  brightness  of  the  divine  Lamb,  who  is 
the  Sun  of  that  city  of  light,  receiving  the  homages  of 
the  angels  and  saints,  who  celebrate  with  joy  his  sublime 
prerogatives,  blessed  by  God  the  Father,  whose  repre- 
sentative he  is,  and  who  has  communicated  to  him  his 
name  and  rights  over  his  eternal  Son — blessed  by  that 
adorable  Son  who  always  recognizes  him  as  his  adopted 
father,  and  who  continues  towards  him  his  gratitude 
and  love. 

The  dignity  of  St.  Joseph  is,  then,  above  the  power 
of  language  to  describe,  whether  we  look  at  his  pre- 


328 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


rogatives  and  virtues,  or  consider  the  glory  he  enjoys 
on  earth  and  in  heaven.  "We  should  also,  while  opening 
our  hearts  to  the  sentiment  of  holy  joy,  rekindle  our 
fervor  towards  him,  and  our  confidence  in  his  inter- 
cession. 

Yes,  let  us  celebrate  his  feast  with  joy.  And  is  it 
not  a true  happiness  for  good  children  to  honor  a father 
whom  they  love,  or  to  clients  to  praise  a generous  bene- 
factor? Now,  is  not  Joseph  our  most  loving  father, 
our  most  generous  protector  ? Besides,  does  not  this 
day  bring  with  it  the  sweetest  consolations  ? Is  not 
this  festival  a memorial  of  all  the  mysteries  of  the  divine 
Childhood — that  is  to  say,  of  all  that  religion  presents 
to  us  of  touching  and  sublime  ? What  is  it  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Christian  soul  but  a day  passed  with  the  Holy 
Family,  in  that  house  of  Nazareth  where  one  breathes 
the  perfume  of  heaven,  and  where  God  himself  dwells 
with  men  ? 

Let  this  feast  serve  us  as  an  occasion  on  which  to 
reanimate  our  fervor.  Let  us  remember  that  we  can 
never  honor  our  holy  patron  more  than  by  showing  by 
our  acts  that  we  really  take  him  as  our  model.  Yes,  if 
we  wish  to  please  him  we  must  be  pious,  zealous,  fer- 
vent, religious — truly  animated  by  the  spirit  of  God. 

In  fine,  let  us  excite  ourselves  to  the  greatest  confi- 
dence in  St.  Joseph.  Let  us  ask  of  him  to-day,  through 
his  intercession,  some  special  graces,  and  let  us  firmly 
hope  that  they  will  be  granted  to  us.  On  this  subject 
let  us  recall  to  mind  the  words  of  St.  Theresa,  which 
are  a summary  of  the  sentiments  of  the  saints : “ I do 
not  remember,”  says  she,  “ to  have  asked  anything,  for 
some  years  past,  of  St.  Joseph,  on  the  day  of  his  feast, 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


329 


that  I did  not  obtain Wliat  a picture  I should  pre- 

sent to  the  eyes,  had  I the  power  of  relating  the  graces 
with  which  God  has  overwhelmed  me,  and  the  dangers, 
both  of  soul  and  body,  from  which  he  has  delivered 
me  through  the  mediation  of  that  great  saint ! This  is 
what  many  others  wdiom  I have  advised  to  recommend 
themselves  to  that  incomparable  protector  have  expe- 
rienced as  wrell  as  I.” 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  have  recourse  to  St.  Joseph,  and  pray  to  him 
with  piety  and  confidence  for  all  that  interests  us.  Let 
us  recommend  to  him  our  Society,  so  fortunate  in  being 
under  his  patronage  ; let  us  beg  him  to  continue  to  pro- 
tect it,  defend  it,  and  maintain  it  in  regularity  and  fervor. 

Let  us  pray  to  him  for  our  relations,  our  friends,  and 
our  benefactors ; let  us  beg  of  him  to  obtain  for  them 
all,  many,  and  efficacious  graces  of  salvation. 

Let  us  recommend  to  him  our  pupils,  asking  him  to 
watch  over  them  as  he  watched  over  the  Child  Jesus, 
and  to  aid  us  in  the  exercises  of  our  duty. 

Let  us  pray  to  him  for  ourselves  personally ; let  us 
ask  some  special  grace,  through  his  intercession,  either 
for  the  present  or  some  future  time ; but,  above  all,  let 
us  beg  him  to  obtain  for  us  final  perseverance. 

Ah  ! from  whom  should  we  demand  that  greatest  of 
all  graces,  but  from  St.  Joseph,  the  patron  of  a good 
death  ? and  when  should  we  ask  it  of  him,  if  not  to-day, 
when  the  Church  celebrates  his  happy  passage  from 
time  to  eternity — when  she  honors  the  events  which  was 
to  him  the  commencement  of  that  glorious  life  by 
which  the  God  of  heaven  recompenses  his  virtues  ? 


330 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PEAYEE. 

Animated  with  the  same  confidence  as  your  servant, 
St.  Theresa,  I come,  O great  St.  Joseph,  to  implore  the 
succor  of  your  protection ; obtain  for  me,  on  this  day 
of  your  feast,  the  grace  which  you  know  to  be  most 
necessary  for  me  to  advance  the  glory  of  the  Child 
Jesus,  to  imitate  your  virtues,  and  to  secure  for  myself 
the  inappreciable  happiness  of  perseverance  in  justice. 

RESUME . 

To  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  Church  on  this  day  of  the 
feast  of  St.  Joseph:  x 

1st,  Let  us  extoll  the  greatness  of  our  glorious  patron. 
Let  us  thank  God  for  the  prerogatives  with  which  he 
honored  him.  Let  us  recall  to  mind  the  mission  of  St. 
Joseph  in  reference  to  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  the  graces 
that  were  given  him  for  that  purpose. 

2d,  Let  us  honor  him  for  his  fidelity  to  those  graces. 
Let  us  admire  him,  meriting  through  his  virtues,  the  title 
of  the  just  man.  Let  us  think  of  his  faith,  his  hope,  his 
charity,  his  humility,  and  his  obedience. . . . 

3d,  Let  us  reflect  on  the  glory  he  enjo}rs  in  recompense 
for  his  virtues — glory  on  this  earth,  where  devotion  to  him 
is  spreading  more  and  more  ; glory,  above  all,  in  heaven, 
where  he  is  next  to  Mary 

4th,  Let  us  awaken  in  ourselves  a holy  joy  at  the 
thought  of  the  glory  of  our  beloved  patron .... 

5th,  Let  us  rekindle  our  fervor,  for  that  is  the  chief 
means  of  glorifying  him  as  he  asks  of  us 

6th,  Let  us  pray  to  him  with  the  most  entire  confidence 
for  the  Institute ....  our  relations ....  our  pupils ....  and 
for  ourselves  personally. 

Fruits. — To  ask  some  particular  grace  to-day  through  the  interces- 
sion of  St.  Joseph  ; to  beg  him,  above  all,  to  obtain  for  us  the  grace  of 
final  perseverance. 


FIFTY-SECOND  MEDITATION. 


FEAST  OF  THE  PATRONAGE  OF  ST.  JOSEPH. 


“ Go  to  Joseph.” — Gen.  xli.  55. 


CONSIDERATION. 

The  feast  we  celebrate  to-day  has  a double  object : 
the  protection  given  by  St.  Joseph  to  the  Child  Jesus 
and  the  most  holy  Virgin,  and  the  assistance  he  brings 
to  Christians.  To  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  Church, 
we  should  praise  and  thank  this  great  servant  of  God 
for  all  he  has  done  for  Jesus  and  Mary;  we  should 
recall  to  mind  his  solicitude,  his  devotedness,  and  his 
labors  for  the  holy  family  ; we  should  honor  him  as  the 
head  of  that  society  so  justly  called  the  Trinity  on 
earth ; we  should  also  meditate  on  the  character  of  the 
patronage  he  extends  to  Christians,  and  more  especially 
to  religious. 

A patron  is  at  once  protector,  guide,  and  model.  He 
should  have,  as  protector,  the  power  and  will  to  do 
good  to  his  proteges;  as  guide,  an  acquaintance  with 
their  wants,  and  knowledge  of  their  duties ; as  model, 
all  the  qualities  and  virtues  that  are  suitable  to  their 
profession.  Thence  it  is  easy  to  be  understood  that 
St.  Joseph  is  the  true  patron  of  Christians.  And,  in 
fact,  how  great  must  be  his  power  in  heaven  where, 
according  to  the  expression  of  several  doctors,  he  com- 


332 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


mands  rather  than  asks  ? How  great  too  must  be  his 
will  to  do  us  good,  and  help  us  in  working  out  our  sal- 
vation? "Who  can  guide  us  better  than  he  in  the  work 
of  making  ourselves  like  to  Jesus  Christ,  -with  whom  he 
lived  for  so  great  a number  of  years  ? Or  where,  in 
fine,  can  we  seek  for  a more  perfect  model  of  the  virtues 
that  ought  to  characterize  a Christian  ? 

He  is,  then,  the  patron  of  all  in  every  state  of  life, 
age,  and  circumstance,  because  he  always  presents  him- 
self to  them  as  their  protector,  their  guide,  and  their 
model. 

Therefore,  he  is  honored  as  patron  by  the  rich  and 
the  poor,  masters  and  workmen,  religious  and  persons 
engaged  in  the  work,  the  young  and  the  old ! It  is  to 
him  that  they  have  recourse  in  all  the  important  cir- 
cumstances of  life ; it  is  through  him,  particularly,  that 
they  ask  the  grace  of  a holy  death. 

Yes,  all  the  faithful  may  behold  their  patron  in  him. 
Besides,  is  it  not  what  is  generally  done  ? How  many 
works  are  undertaken  under  his  auspices ! How 
many  associations  have  taken  his  name ! How  many 
apostles  of  the  faith  confide  their  missions  to  him ! 
How  many  fathers  of  a family  pray  to  him  for  their 
children ! How  many  churches  and  oratories  are  being 
erected  under  his  name  ! Who  can  give  a just  idea  of 
the  number  of  prayers  addressed  to  him  from  all  coun- 
tries, and  by  persons  of  all  conditions  ! 

That  general  recourse  to  the  protection  of  St. 
Joseph  proclaims  aloud  its  efficacy ; for  if  Christians 
are  everywhere  eager  to  place  themselves  under  his 
patronage,  it  is  because  universal  experience  shows  that 
nothing  is  more  advantageous,  and  that  he  who  was 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


333 


the  protector  of  Jesus  and  Mary — that  is  to  say,  of  the 
new  Adam  and  the  new  Eve — counts  it  a happiness  to 
be  such  to  all  Christians,  who  are  their  children,  and 
make  but  one  with  them. 

But  if  St.  Joseph  is  the  patron  of  all  Christians,  he 
is  more  particularly  the  patron  of  religious.  Whether 
cloistered  or  engaged  in  an  active  life,  all  find  in  him 
a protector,  a guide,  and  a model.  Therefore,  how 
many  founders  of  orders  have  placed  their  societies 
under  his  patronage,  persuaded  that  they  could  not  do 
better  than  commit  themselves  to  the  protection  of 
him  of  whom  the  Church  says  that  he  has  been  placed 
over  the  whole  house  of  God ! It  was  thus  our  Ven- 
erable Father  acted,  who,  enlightened  by  God,  under- 
stood that  nothing  could  be  more  profitable  to  us, 
since  St.  Joseph  would  not  refuse  to  protect  and  direct 
us,  and  because  he  had  practiced  in  their  perfection 
all  the  virtues  required  of  us  as  religious  or  teachers. 

Yes,  St.  Joseph  is  our  protector.  The  Church  pre- 
sents him  to  us  as  such  in  the  Bull  of  Approbation  of 
our  Institute,  and  all  the  past  experience  of  our  con- 
gregation speaks  to  us  of  his  assistance. 

Who  can  tell  us  for  what  singular  favors  the  congre- 
gation in  general,  and  the  communities  of  which  it  is 
composed,  as  well  as  individuals  who  have  been,  and 
others  who  still  are  its  members,  are  indebted  to  him  ? 
How  many  dangers  he  has  kept  from  us  ! How  many 
times  he  has  aided  us  in  critical  circumstances ! Who 
can  tell  us  how  many  Brothers  are  indebted  to  him  for 
their  vocation,  their  progress  in  virtue,  their  success  in 
their  classes,  and  their  merits  for  heaven ! Who  can 
tell  for  how  many  he  has  procured  the  grace  of  graces 


334 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


—that  is  to  say,  a holy  death  ? Let  ns  recall  to  mind 
those  whom  we  have  known,  and  who  have  left  this 
world  for  a better.  How  great  was  their  calm  and 
confidence  at  the  approach  of  death  ! Far  from  fear- 
ing it,  did  they  not  appear  to  desire  it  ? Let  us  be  as- 
sured that  it  was  because  they  obtained  for  that  period 
that  decides  our  eternity  the  assistance  of  our  glorious 
patron. 

But  not  only  is  St.  Joseph  our  protector,  he  is  also 
our  guide  and  model.  Who  knows  better  than  he  the 
ways  of  perfection,  and  what  can  lead  us  most  surely 
thither ! Who  better  than  he  can  instruct  us  in  our 
duties  in  reference  to  the  children  confided  to  us ! 
Did  he  not  excel  in  all  the  virtues  that  ought,  above 
all,  to  characterize  us  in  our  profession  ? Let  us  recall 
his  spirit  of  faith,  his  charity,  his  confidence  in  God, 
his  love  of  an  interior  life.  Let  us  reflect  on  his 
humility,  so  profound ; his  obedience,  so  prompt  and 
so  generous  ; his  angelic  chastity  and  piety.  Let  us 
consider,  also,  his  unalterable  patience,  his  ardent 
zeal,  his  vigilance,  his  devotedness,  his  respect  for  the 
divine  Child  confided  to  his  care ; and  let  us  be  con- 
vinced that  here  is  truly  the  model  shown  to  us  on  the 
Mount,  whom  we  ought  to  strive  to  resemble,  if  we 
wish  to  correspond  to  the  designs  of  God  upon  us. 

APPLICATION. 

Let  us  always  remember  that  we  are  the  proteges 
and  imitators  of  St.  J oseph  ; but  let  us  think  of  it  more 
particularly  on  the  day  of  the  feast  of  his  patronage. 

Let  us  excite  ourselves  to  the  most  lively  gratitude 
at  the  thought  of  the  blessings  for  which  we  are  in- 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


335 


debted  to  liim  personally,  and  of  those  for  which  our 
congregation  thanks  him.  Let  us  thank  him  with  our 
wdiole  hearts  for  his  assistance  towards  us,  and  towards 
our  Brothers. 

Let  us  renew  our  confidence  in  his  intercession ; let 
us  remember  that  he  is  all-powerful  over  the  heart  of 
Jesus,  and  always  disposed  to  succor  us.  Let  us, 
then,  address  ourselves  to  him  with  faith  and  piety ; 
let  us  pray  to  him  for  our  pupils,  that  they  may  form 
themselves  on  the  model  of  the  Child  Jesus,  and  be- 
come worthy  of  their  eternal  destiny  ; let  us  pray  to 
him  for  our  relations,  that  he  may  aid  them  to  com- 
plete the  work  of  their  sanctification,  so  difficult  in  the 
world.  Let  us  pray  to  him  for  the  Institute,  that  he 
may  continue  to  protect  it  and  maintain  it  in  regularity 
and  fervor  ; let  us  pray  to  him  for  ourselves  person- 
ally ; let  us  expose  to  him  the  wants  of  our  souls ; let 
us  beg  him,  above  all,  to  remember  that  he  is  the 
patron  of  a good  death,  and  that  it  is  through  him  we 
hope  to  obtain  that  inestimable  grace  which  can  alone 
secure  us  the  happiness  of  heaven. 

Let  us  adopt  to-day  the  firm  resolution  of  reproduc- 
ing in  ourselves  the  virtues  we  admire  in  him ; let  us 
not  forget  that  it  is  principally  by  imitating  him  we 
honor  him  as  our  patron,  and  induce  him  to  continue 
his  assistance  to  us. 

In  fine,  let  us  train  up  our  pupils  to  have  great  de- 
votion to  St.  Joseph.  Let  us  engage  them  to  take  him 
as  their  patron,  and  to  imitate  his  piety,  his  fidelity, 
his  love  of  labor,  his  chastity,  his  devotedness,  and  his 
patience  in  the  trials  of  life. 


336 


MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 


PRAYER. 

Remember,  O St.  Joseph,  that  you  are  our  glorious 
patron.  Regard  with  an  eye  of  kindness  the  family 
of  the  Venerable  de  la  Salle,  so  fortunate  in  being 
under  your  protection.  Keep  it  in  the  spirit  of  faith 
and  regularity,  which  makes  its  strength  and  life,  and 
obtain  for  each  of  its  members  the  grace  of  imitating 
your  virtues,  and  of  dying,  like  you,  in  the  arms  of 
Jesus  and  Mary. 

RESUME. 

A true  patron  is  at  once  a powerful  and  benevolent  pro- 
tector, a sure  guide,  or  holy  model. 

St.  Joseph  is  evidently  the  true  patron  of  all  Christians, 
and,  above  all,  of  all  religious .... 

He  is  all-powerful  over  the  heart  of  Jesus; he  is  full 

of  goodness  towards  those  who  invoke  him; he  is  the 

model  of  all  Christians,  in  whatever  circumstances  they 
may  be  placed ....  Therefore,  he  is  their  patron,  and  all 
the  faithful  are  anxious  to  honor  him  by  that  title. . . . 

A great  number  of  religious  orders  have  placed  them- 
selves under  his  patronage.  Our  Institute  has  that  in- 
estimable advantage. . . .Let  us  behold,  then,  in  St.  Joseph 

our  protector ....  our  guide ....  our  model whether  as 

religious  or  teachers 

Let  us  recall  to  mind  how  he  practiced  faith,  obedience, 
and  humility ....  all  the  virtues  that  become  us  in  our 
state;. . . .and  let  us  strive  to  walk  in  his  footsteps 

Fruits. — To  thank  St.  Joseph  for  his  protection  towards  ourselves 
individually  and  the  Institute  ; to  pray  to  him  with  confidence  for  our 
pupils,  our  relations,  and  our  congregation ; to  ask  him,  above  all,  to 
obtain  for  us  the  grace  of  a happy  death. 


'll  089 


4 


DOES  NPr  n WUUHE 


